
/ t 2-1 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/motivationofscho01wils 



THE MOTIVATION OF 
SCHOOL WORK 

BY 

H. B. WILSON 

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 

AND 

G. M. WILSON 

PROFESSOR OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND DIRECTOR 

OF THE SUMMER SESSION, IOWA STATE COLLEGE OF 

AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS, AMES, IOWA 

REVISED EDITION 




BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 



.W5S 
\c\Z\. 



COPYRIGHT, 1916 AND 1921, BY H. B. WILSON AND G. M. WILSON 



a o 



. Wot &ibergi&e $fre££ 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 



FEB 27. 1923 

C1A698451 



PREFACE 

Two forces have combined in stimulating the prepara- 
tion of this volume. One force is personal, the experi- 
ence of the authors; the other is general, the growth of 
an educational theory demanding motive and interest 
in all school work. In the twenty or more years of their 
experience in rural, grade, and high schools, both as 
teachers and superintendents, the authors came to see 
clearly the large gains in the speed, thoroughness, and 
scope of the work when pupils were trying to do things 
of personal concern to them. From these experiences, 
they gradually accumulated a large body of concrete 
results secured under perfectly normal schoolroom con- 
ditions. Through presentation of these data to teachers 
and superintendents in educational meetings, in college 
and normal school classes, and through educational 
magazines, a demand arose for a more complete and or- 
ganic statement of how to motivate the pupil's mastery 
of the various school subjects and of the results which 
have been secured from such motivated work. 

The fundamental theory of motivation is not new. 
Glimpses of this theory appear here and there through- 
out the history of education. Rousseau, half con- 
sciously, was one of its first popular exponents. In re- 
cent years, Dr. John Dewey has given it cle'ar statement 
and a large following. But teachers find difficulty in 
carrying theory into practice even when clearly under- 
stood and appreciated. Teachers and superintendents, 
alike, have been seeking help in putting the theory of 
interest and motivation into practice under schoolroom 



iv PREFACE 

conditions. A demand for a collection of the best prac- 
tices of the best schools has grown increasingly insis- 
tent. 

The present volume, therefore, seeks to satisfy per- 
sonal obligations and a growing professional need. It 
recognizes that the largest daily task of the teacher is 
the detailed planning and preparation of the various 
lessons to be taught. The most difficult phase of teach- 
ing is not acquiring the necessary information nor con- 
trolling the class, but it is discovering problems and 
motives for the work that will make it appeal to and 
interest the pupils. This book is designed to furnish 
concrete help of a fundamental kind in solving this daily 
problem of every teacher. 

While giving some attention in Part I to a clear and 
comprehensive statement of the theory of motivation, 
the main body of the work is devoted to concrete illus- 
trations of the practical working of the theory in teach- 
ing the subjects of the common school curriculum in 
the classroom. The general plan of the book is easily 
comprehended from the table of contents. 

While a more complete and thorough grasp of the 
technique of motivation may be secured from a careful 
study of the entire volume, it is organized in such a 
way that each chapter dealing with one of the school 
subjects may be readily understood and used without 
reference to the other chapters. Any teacher whose 
time does not enable her to read the entire volume will 
find it easy to get the spirit and purpose of the authors 
and to secure the help she wants by reading chapter 
II and then turning to the chapter treating the subject 
in which she needs special help. 

The indebtedness of the authors, particularly to their 
associates in public-school work during the last decade, 



PREFACE v 

is so great that individual acknowledgment here would 
require the printing of a long list of names. Where pos- 
sible, credit for illustrations used has been given in the 
body of the text. Due acknowledgment is likewise made 
to those leaders in education to whom the authors are 
heavily indebted not only for guiding principles, but 
also for inspiration. 

The authors acknowledge gratefully the courtesy of 
School and Home Education, American Education, The 
Elementary School Teacher, The Midland Schools, The 
Educator-Journal, and the Atlantic Educational Journal 
for permission to use freely portions of certain chapters 
previously published in these educational magazines. 

Among those to whom the authors are deeply in- 
debted for helpful constructive criticism of certain por- 
tions of the manuscript in the various stages of its for- 
mulation are Miss Frances Jenkins, Mr. George A. 
Brown, President John R. Kirk, Assistant Superin- 
tendent K. J. Hoke, Professors T. W. Galloway, J. W. 
Searson, J. Fleming Hosic, C. R. Mann, L. D. Coffman, 
Thomas H. Briggs, George D. Strayer, W. C. Bagley, 
and E. L. Thorndike. 

PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION 

The main feature of the revision is the addition of 
the chapter on the project method. The project method 
of teaching is a direct outgrowth of the general ac- 
ceptance of the doctrine of interest and the principles 
of motivation. There has been much confusion in the 
use of the terms "project" and "project-method." 
The added chapter on the Project Method will make 
clear the proper application of these terms and will 



vi PREFACE 

show the fundamental relationships of the project 
method and motivation. 

The book as originally written has furnished such a 
satisfactory working guide for motivated teaching, 
and has been so stimulating in leading teachers in all 
parts of the country to work out and report motivated 
types of school work, that it seems best to leave the 
original chapters practically unchanged for this re- 
vision. 

Motivated teaching has gained in favor rapidly 
because it is based squarely upon the doctrines of in- 
terest and self-activity, and it recognizes that the child 
engaged in purposeful activity of a worthwhile nature 
furnishes the ideal condition for learning and instilling 
right habits and right ideals. The proper motivation 
of school work not only means increased efficiency in 
teaching, but it means for the child richer experience, 
larger personality, and new joy in living. 

The Authoks 

September 1, 1920 



— T^ 



CONTENTS 

PART I 
MOTIVATION IN MODERN EDUCATION 

I. The Present Need m Education 3 

The present attainment and the next step — The 
old school and the new — The divine discontent — 
The fundamental difficulty — The remedy. 

II. The Meaning of Motivation 15 

The motive and the goal — The educational value 

of a May-Day party — Motivated language work — 
The incentive and the motive — Interest and motive 
— The technique of motivated teaching. 

HI. The Psychological Basis of Motivation . . 28 
Child or subject-matter? — Interest and moral 
development — Relation of interest to apparent fa- 
tigue — Interest and the learning curve — Interest 
and memory — Interest and formal discipline — The 
center of method. 

IV. The Origin and Sources of Motives ... 43 

The analysis of motive — Instinct the basis of mo- 
tive — Different types of motive. 

PART n 

THE MOTIVATION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL 
SUBJECTS 

V. The Motivation of Reading 57 

Establishing the motive — Choice and treatment 
of selections — The use of games — Other motives. 



viii CONTENTS 

VI. The Motivation of Language and Composition . 71 

Establishing the motive — The desire to acquire 
property — Using the need for communication — 
Using the instinct of sharing — Using the motive of 
entertaining — The motive of preservation — Using 
the text — The value of formal grammar. 

VII. The Motivation of History 101 

Re-living history — The solution of a modern 
problem — Other motives — The Constitutional 
Convention in class — Dramatizing historic events 
— The social-group method — Motivated work and 
"page" work — Organizing history around problems. 

VIII. The Motivation of Geography . . . .133 
What should be learned in geography — Motivating 

the work — Creating a real problem — From local 
to foreign geography — Direct correspondence with 
other regions — The imaginary journey — Correla- 
tion — Suggestions for a course of study. 

IX. The Motivation of Arithmetic .... 158 

The demand for practical arithmetic — Correla- 
tion with other subjects — Buying a lot and building 
a house — Furnishing a six-room house — Organiz- 
ing a stock company — Occupational studies — 
The school bank — Comparison of courses of study. 

PART in 

THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SCHOOL SUBJECTS 
AND ACTIVITIES 

X. The Motivation of Other Subjects . . .185 

The motivation of writing — The motivation of 
spelling — The motivation of music — The motiva- 
tion of drawing — The motivation of home econom- 
ics — The motivation of manual training — The 
motivation of agriculture and nature-study — Cor- 
relation. 



CONTENTS ix 

XI. School Activities a Means of Motivating the 

Work of the School 220 

Using the social and competitive instincts — 
The school assembly — Athletic events and school 
societies — The school paper. 

XII. Motivation and Efficiency 241 

Efficiency and progress — Motivation the agent 
— The elimination of the useless — Efficiency ap- 
plied to organization — The value of the child's 
time — Establishing concentration. 

XIII. The Project Method 250 

What is a project ? — Purposeful act, problem, 
project — Is the project fmethod applicable to all 
subjects ? — May projects be undertaken in the ap- 
preciation subjects ? — Is project work to replace 
drill ? — What are the advantages of a project in 
teaching ? — What are the essential and desirable 
characteristics of a project ? — Are there dangers 
in the use of the project method ? — Many or few 
projects ? — Can the work be as well done ? 

Bibliography 267 

Recent Publications. Particularly on the Pro- 
ject Method 270 

Index . . , ... 273 



THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL 
WORK 

CHAPTER I 

THE PRESENT NEED IN EDUCATION 

Notwithstanding all the advances in public educa- 
tion in recent years, negative criticism of the work of 
the public schools constantly confronts us. Much of it 
is sensational and groundless, but some of it is undoubt- 
edly temperate and well founded. Educators must 
frankly concede that in spite of all the improvements 
which have been made in the public schools in recent 
years, the work and activities of the school system are 
not sufficiently significant to the pupils to possess the 
impelling, absorbing power that should characterize 
preparation for a life-work. Before discussing the im- 
provements needed, a brief consideration of the evolu- 
tion of the school and of the social progress it has made 
possible will afford a clearer perspective, in view of which 
present conditions and pressing needs may be more ade- 
quately stated. 

The present attainment and the next step. Despite 
the general demand for the improvement of the public 
schools, the cause of education was never in a more en- 
couraging condition than to-day. In every respect, the 
schools are better to-day than ever before. They enroll 
more children and hold them longer. They do more 
work and do it on a higher plane. The teachers are 
better trained and better paid. The schools have a 



4 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

broader outlook and do more real service in the com- 
munity. The schools were never more skillfully man- 
aged, or more powerful. The introduction of the Am- 
erican school into the Orient has broken up forty 
centuries of conservatism. It has given us a new China, 
a new Japan, and is working marked progress in Tur- 
key and the Philippines. The schools not only encour- 
age social solidarity and progress, but they are in po- 
sition to determine the lines of progress. Have they 
reached the limits of their power, or are they just ap- 
proaching an era of expansion into greater power and 
usefulness? What is their present attainment and what 
should be the next step forward? 

The ancient conception was not that of an educated 
people, but merely of an educated class. In ancient 
Egypt it is doubtful if as many as one per cent of the 
people were educated. Learning was an ornament for 
the few. The same was true in Greece, that ancient 
center of culture and learning. It was education for the 
few, probably not exceeding ten per cent of the total 
population. The masses were left in ignorance and 
slavery. The Greek culture was a culture for ornament 
and for leisure. Early Roman education aimed at the 
practical, — commerce, war, and the forum. But edu- 
cation was a private enterprise and was confined almost 
exclusively to the boys. Later it was limited to the 
rich and the ruling classes. Slavery and ignorance were 
the common lot. 

The Christian era gave us a new conception of the 
value of the individual, woman included, but the ideal 
was not realized during the Middle Ages. The mediae- 
val practice was to educate only the exceptionally bright 
boys. Theology and discussion were the end, authority 
and the syllogism were the chief means. Latin was the 



THE PRESENT NEED IN EDUCATION 5 

language of learning, the vernacular being considered 
common and vulgar. No practical ends were sought in 
education. It is doubtful if the percentage of educated 
people was any greater in mediaeval than in ancient 
times. Certainly learning did not attain to such heights. 

Modern ideals require that all shall be educated, and 
that such education shall be serviceable to the individ- 
ual culturally, socially, and practically. These ideals 
have been slow in evolving and are probably not fully 
realized anywhere to-day. Rousseau did valiant serv- 
ice in directing our attention to the child and in help- 
ing to make the child — his interests and needs — the 
center of the educative process. He was supported in 
turn by Pestalozzi, Froebel, and other reformers. But 
the ideal is still far from general realization. The gen- 
eral influence of Luther and the Reformation was 
toward universal education in the vernacular. It was 
not long until compulsory education was tried out. 
To-day compulsory education is the rule in civilized 
nations, and the vernacular is thoroughly established 
in the schools. We scarcely realize that for a thousand 
years it was otherwise and that the new regime is hardly 
a century old. 

But our difficulties and responsibilities have increased 
almost in proportion to the numbers being educated. 
As long as we sought to educate only the few, — the 
wealthy and the precocious, — we did not need to be 
very critical of either our subject-matter or our method. 
But when we compel the attendance of the laborer's 
son, and when by taxation we take from the widow's 
income, then all phases of our school work are imme- 
diately brought under scrutiny, and very properly so. 
The taxpaying public has a right to demand that the 
subject-matter selected for school work shall be suffi- 



6 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

ciently valuable to justify the parents' expenditure of 
money and the children's expenditure of time; that 
schoolroom methods shall be effective and economical; 
and that teachers shall be properly trained for their work. 

The old school and the new. The extent of the im- 
provement in all of these lines within recent years can 
best be appreciated by contrasting the schools of yes- 
terday and of to-day in a typical Middle- Western State. 
In a particular township fifty years ago there were seven 
log schoolhouses. The schools opened after Thanks- 
giving and continued for three or four months. The 
subjects taught were spelling, reading, writing, and 
arithmetic, the greater part of the time being devoted 
to spelling and arithmetic. Girls seldom studied arith- 
metic. The pupils ranged in age up to twenty-one or 
twenty-two years. There was no classification by years 
or grades, no uniform texts, and no compulsory attend- 
ance. Each pupil moved forward at his own rate, or 
stood still. The teachers were men who had been exam- 
ined by the local school directors, and had demonstrated 
their ability to spell, to write, to read in McGuffy's 
Sixth Reader, and to cipher to the Rule of Three. Most 
of these men were transients in the community and 
in the profession. They merely stayed for the winter, 
and would later pass on to more permanent and more 
remunerative employment, or would use the money re- 
ceived to buy government land. Seldom did a year pass, 
however, that some one of these teachers was not 
" whipped out " by the big boys and compelled to give 
up the school without finishing the term. 

To-day in that same township there is one central 
school plant which is surrounded by ten acres of ground 
devoted to lawn, playgrounds, gardens, and agricultural 
experiments. Most of the children are transported in 



THE PRESENT NEED IN EDUCATION 7 

school wagons. The others receive pay for transport- 
ing themselves and are provided with a commodious 
barn for their horses and vehicles. The schoolhouse is 
modern in every particular, properly heated, lighted, 
and ventilated, equipped with indoor toilets, basement 
play-rooms, manual-training shops, domestic science 
kitchens, gymnasium, and a spacious assembly-room. 
The school is thoroughly graded, and offers four years of 
high-school work. The program of studies is modern 
and diversified. In comparison with an eighteen- or 
twenty-year-old pupil of the old school, a twelve-year- 
old boy of to-day not only knows more arithmetic, 
reads better, writes better, spells better, but he also 
knows far more history, physiology (sanitation and 
hygiene), geography, and language, and he has had 
work in music, drawing, manual training, and agricul- 
ture. Furthermore, this modern boy's attitude is good. 
He admires his teacher and his principal, he cooperates 
with the other children, and he is interested in the com- 
munity and in affairs. He will make a better citizen and 
a more intelligent voter. 

The principal of this school is a graduate of the state 
normal school and of the state agricultural college. He 
is in sympathy with country life and is the inspiration 
of the entire community. He has made the school a 
community center, and the high school a center for 
agricultural extension work among the farmers of the 
township. He was employed for this position three years 
ago at a salary of twelve hundred dollars for twelve 
months. His salary has been increased each year since. 
He is now married and lives across the road from the 
school plant. He has cooperated with the trustee and 
county superintendent in the selection of the teachers. 
All of these are at least high-school graduates with a 



8 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

year of professional training. The assistants in the high 
school are college graduates with professional training. 
One of the grade teachers is a graduate of the state nor- 
mal school. The janitor is employed by the year and 
lives on the school grounds in the house that was for- 
merly a one-room school-building. 

This picture is not overdrawn. It can be duplicated 
to-day not alone in Massachusetts, Indiana, and Cali- 
fornia, but also in Louisiana, in North Carolina, in 
Kentucky, in Ohio, in Iowa, in the Dakotas, in Idaho 
— in short, in almost every State of the Union. The 
progress in town and city systems has been equally 
marked. 

It is safe to say that the last one hundred years have 
seen more progress in the schools than did the preced- 
ing one thousand years. Furthermore, the last genera- 
tion has seen more progress than did the preceding ten 
generations. Under these circumstances the times are 
auspicious for a general advance. If the ideals that have 
been realized in our schools in a few places could be 
realized universally, if the rank and file could be fired 
with the zeal and inspired with the vision of our leaders, 
and if the best practices of the select few could be made 
to prevail throughout our schools, the level of efficiency 
would be raised immeasurably. And that advance will 
be made. The American people will not be perma- 
nently content with untrained teachers in most of their 
schools, with organization which is expensive and in- 
adequate, and with subject-matter which fails to serve 
the interests of developing childhood. 

The divine discontent. Nor will the school people 
themselves be satisfied; indeed, they dare not be. The 
schools to-day have keener competition than ever be- 
fore. Formerly almost the only intellectual competitors 



THE PRESENT NEED IN EDUCATION 9 

of the schools were dry Sunday sermons and the weekly 
party paper. Now the schools must compete success- 
fully, not alone with improved intellectual agencies, 
but with every other outside means of culture or amuse- 
ment — with the socialized church, the cosmopolitan 
daily and its Sunday supplement, the moving-picture 
shows, the Boy Scouts and C amp-Fire Girls, the mod- 
ern library, the Young Men's and Young Women's 
Christian Associations, and the dance hall. True, the 
school should utilize these forces and cooperate with 
them; but it must also compete with them. It must 
show improvement in comparison. It must make an 
appeal which is sufficiently interesting and worth while 
to hold the children in school. And all of this means 
that the times demand better teaching, a better selec- 
tion of subject-matter, and better methods of working. 
The rank and file of the teaching profession must ad- 
vance to the higher levels. 

To promote this advance, teachers should have avail- 
able for their use the helpful material growing out of 
the best practices of our best teachers in our best schools. 
We know that it is possible to meet the demands of 
childhood, and to keep the children in school better, 
because it is being done in many places. The progres- 
sive teacher wants to know of the better practices which 
secure these results, which secure the cooperation of 
parents, and which secure a larger income in school 
taxes without dissent or murmur. It is found that these 
better practices also develop childhood, nurture indi- 
viduality, and encourage desirable variation and ini- 
tiative. They tend to abolish the treadmill of educa- 
tion. They make the educative process more effective 
and economical, doing for teaching what Emerson and 
Taylor, as efficiency engineers, have done for business. 



10 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

In fact, it is the development of the individual work- 
man through motive and interest which constitutes the 
basis of the success of Emerson and Taylor. Why not 
secure interest and more effective effort in school work 
through a thorough motivation of all the pupil's work 
by giving him an opportunity to expend his energies 
upon problems and situations that to him are real and 
worth while? Why not substitute for the formal text-book 
routine of schoolroom practice, self-imposed tasks which 
the pupil is vitally interested in successfully completing? 

The fundamental difficulty. The fundamental diffi- 
culty is that the work in which the schools seek to en- 
gage the child is not significant to him. It does not 
satisfy the needs which the individual child experiences. 
It does not gratify any hunger or yearning he has felt. 
It does not answer any questions which his experiences 
have raised in his mind. It does not contribute to the 
solution of any problems which he has encountered in 
actual life. With the work thus external and foreign 
to the child's personal hungers, longings, questions, 
experiences, and problems, it does not render him ag- 
gressively self-active. In the average school, we find him 
listlessly sitting, looking, listening, and answering when 
questioned, rather than initiating, doing, and creating. 
Yet we know definitely that growth and mastery 
can come to the child only as a result of vigorous, ag- 
gressive self-activity. 

It is not necessary to arouse controversy by empha- 
sizing a particular aim in education. The aim of educa- 
tion may be variously stated to include knowledge and 
character and to lead to efficiency in citizenship. But 
however satisfactorily the aim of education may be 
stated, we are forced to admit that such statement in 
itself has rendered very small service, for an aim may 



THE PRESENT NEED IN EDUCATION 11 

be two centuries in realizing itself in actual school prac- 
tice. vThe crying need to-day is for educational leaders 
among practical school people who can make ideals 
operative, who can work educational aims into the 
course of study and the practices of the schoolroom. 
We need to realize aims in content and method as well 
as in abstract statement. From whatever source we 
draw our inspiration and whatever the avowed quality 
of our subject-matter, — humanistic, disciplinistic, ma- 
terialistic, scientific, socialistic, or an eclectic combi- 
nation of these, — the questions of content and of 
method are almost equally pertinent. And above con- 
tent and method as final determiner of correct school 
practice, stands the child with his attitude, his interests, 
his motives and problems. 

While the schools have made remarkable progress 
and are continuing to make progress, there is strong 
evidence that there is much room for improvement. 
In the United States as a whole, of one hundred pupils 
entering the first grade, only ninety enter the fourth 
grade, seventy -two remain in the sixth grade, and forty- 
three enter the eighth grade. Thirty-six pupils out of 
the one hundred reach the high school, but half of these 
never reach the second year and only twelve remain to 
graduate from the fourth year of high school. 1 That we 
graduate only twelve per cent of our pupils from the 
high school is a very severe indictment. The indictment 
becomes more severe when we are convinced by careful 
studies that this dropping out of school is not due to 
the poverty of parents, but that most of it may be 
charged up to the inefficiency of the schools. 2 

1 Strayer, Bulletin no. 5 of the U.S. Department of Education 
(1911). 

2 St. Louis, Report of the Board of Education (1911). 

The St. Louis study shows that eighty per cent of the children leav- 



12 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

While a larger percentage of pupils enter the upper 
grades and secondary schools in America than in Eu- 
rope, yet there are special, private, vocational, trade, 
evening, and continuation schools in a large part of 
Europe that give their total figures a very different 
aspect. 

The remedy. The remedy for this situation, — the 
means of bringing our school work to a higher level, — 
as developed in the following pages, is the thorough mo- 
tivation of the child's school efforts. What this means 
concretely and in detail is developed in chapters II and 
IV, and the following chapters show its application to 
particular subjects or to particular lines of school work. 

Any thorough effort to motivate the school's work 
will result in the elimination of useless 1 subject-matter 
from the traditional course of study. Educational 
leaders are convinced that the greater part of formal 
grammar fails to function and should be eliminated from 
the grade work. 2 In arithmetic fully one half of our 
energy has been expended upon useless and obsolete 
subject-matter. In spelling we have been hopelessly 
burdening the child in our attempt to teach from 10,000 
to 15,000 words, while the outside limit of an eighth- 
grade writing vocabulary is less than 5000 words. 3 And 
so in geography, in physiology , in history, in writing, 

ing the high schools before graduation are not forced out by poverty. 
The school simply fails to hold them. See also the Report of. the 
Massachusetts Commission (1905), p. 104; the Report of the Super- 
intendent of Schools of New York City (July, 1909) ; the Report on 
Vocational Training, issued by the City Club of Chicago, p. 34. 

1 See Year-Booh of the National Society for the Study of Educa- 
tion, vol. 14, part I. 

2 F. S. Hoyt, "Studies in English Grammar," Teachers College Rec- 
ord (September, 1905). 

3 W. F. Jones, The Concrete Materials of English Spelling; L. P. 
Ayres, Spelling Vocabularies of Personal and Business Letters; B. R. 
Buckingham, Spelling Ability. 



THE PRESENT NEED IN EDUCATION 13 

in algebra, physics, and other subjects, — the work 
has been organized from the standpoint of scientific 
adult subject-matter, with the result that the child has 
been crushed, discouraged, and driven out of school. 
Although the main purpose of the following chapters 
is to show how to motivate significant and vital sub- 
jects for the pupil, the omission of useless subject- 
matter necessarily receives treatment in showing how 
to motivate the work pupils should do. 

A further remedy for the situation, which is not 
treated herein, but which we cannot forbear mention- 
ing, has to do with the organization, management, and 
supervision of the schools. It has been estimated that 
the loss due to the useless repetition of grades by pupils 
in our schools amounts to $27,000,000 annually in the 
United States. This is the money loss alone, and may 
not be the greatest loss. It is due to a situation which 
our supervisory officers could and should remedy. 
Annual promotion should give way to semiannual or 
quarterly promotion, thus reducing the loss in case of 
repetition. But failure and repetition should be re- 
duced to the minimum through the employment of 
special teachers to assist the backward, through per- 
sonal attention to the backward by the regular teacher, 
and through a separation of pupils 1 according to ability 
so that an entire room may move at the same rate; thus 
making failure unnecessary, and slower but regular 
progress the rule. On the other hand, the promotion 
scheme should be sufficiently flexible to permit the more 
rapid promotion of the bright pupils. They are partic- 

1 See Provision for Exceptional Children in the Public Schools, U.S. 
Bureau of Education, Bulletin no. 14 (1911). See also Reports of the 
National Education Association (1908), p. 147; (1910), p. 155; 
(1912), p. 355; and Keyes's Progress of Children through the Grades, 
Teachers College Publications. 



14 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

ularly susceptible to disgust with formal treadmill 
work. They are an unusual asset, and they must be 
conserved to the school and society. 

With our school work thoroughly motivated, with 
the useless and obsolete eliminated, and with a school 
organization modified to meet the demands of child- 
hood, we may reasonably expect that our schools will 
gradually move toward greater efficiency, toward a 
higher level of teaching and toward results commensu- 
rate with the improvement in method and the better 
selection of subject-matter. 



CHAPTER II 

THE MEANING OF MOTIVATION 

The motive and the goal. That attack upon school 
work which seeks to make its tasks significant and pur- 
poseful to each child, by relating them to his childish 
experiences, questions, problems, and desires, is called 
motivation. The child's work is motivated whenever he 
sees a real use in it — whenever it satisfies some need 
he feels, provides some value he wants, supplies some 
control he wishes to possess, secures some desired end, 
or helps him to attain any definite goal. 

The goal sought may be near or remote — as near as 
earning a penny to buy a stick of candy, as far as gain- 
ing the mental and manual ability to construct an air- 
ship. So long as the child comprehends more or less 
clearly the relationship between the work he is doing 
and the end sought, his work is motivated. The more 
definitely he appreciates this relationship, and the more 
keenly he desires to reach the given goal, the more im- 
pelling are his motives for working. 

How school work moves forward wfieiT'real needs 
arise may be shown by recounting an actual school 
experience : — 

The educational value of a May-Day party. A great 
many very interesting real problems grew out of the de- 
cision of a third-grade class to give a May-Day party to 
which their mothers were to be invited. Under the skill- 
ful management of the teacher, 1 the children carried the 
1 Mrs. Etna Stivers Dwyer, St. Louis, Mo. 



16 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

responsibility for the party from its inception to its 
completion. They wished to earn the money necessary 
to defray all expenses and to manage the development 
of the program, the reception of the guests, the presen- 
tation of the entertainment, and the serving of the re- 
freshments. 

During the progress of the work, and following it, the 
teacher based much of her school Work upon the prob- 
lems the children found it necessary to solve. Problems 
solved during the manual training and art lessons grew 
out of the need for a May basket and a program for each 
guest. Many problems in arithmetic arose in estimat- 
ing the cost of the party and in figuring up the pur- 
chases made. These were met and solved in the arith- 
metic lesson. The following, selected from the teacher's 
list as reported to her superintendent, are typical : — 

1. There are 50 pupils in our room. If each pupil comes and 
each pupil's mother comes, how many will be at our 
party? How many will it make if we also invite the 4 
supervisors who teach us? 

9,. Eight mothers replied to our invitation that they cannot 
come; how many should we expect at our party then? 

3. How much ice-cream must we get to serve 96 guests? 
If a pint of ice-cream will serve 4 persons, 1 quart will 
serve persons. One gallon then will serve per- 
sons. It will, therefore, take gallons to serve 96 

persons. 

4. One gallon of ice-cream costs 80 cents, so 3 gallons will 
cost us $ . 

5. If we serve each person % nabiscoes, we will need 

nabiscoes. 

6. There are 50 pupils in our room. H each child earns a 
nickel, we will have $ . 

7. Our teacher gave us 50 cents she made. Our $2.50 and 
her 50 cents will give us $ to spend for refreshments. 

8. Our ice-cream will cost us $2.40, so we will have 

cents left to buy nabiscoes. 



THE MEANING OF MOTIVATION 17 

Many additional problems were met in determining 
the number of programs, dishes, spoons, napkins, and 
chairs which would be needed for the party. Many of 
the problems were different from those the pupils had 
had in the arithmetic in use. Many original ways of 
solving the problems were therefore developed. 

Interesting compositions were written in which each 
told how he earned his money and in which the success 
of the party was reported. Notes were written asking 
the first grade to make colored-paper chains with which 
to decorate the room, another grade to make programs 
for distribution to the guests, and other grades for 
flowers to decorate the room and for chairs to seat the 
guests. Finally a formal invitation was written to each 
guest invited. After the party was over, all who assisted 
were thanked in a written note or in a personal message 
borne by some pupil. A gentleman who contributed 
some paper napkins received a very courteous and de- 
tailed note of thanks. 

The following are specimens, chosen from a large num- 
ber reported, which illustrate the kind of writing the 
children did. The occasion for each bit of writing is 
evident from the preceding explanation : — 

The Way I Earned My Nickel 

I earned my nickel by not crying for five days, but I could 
hardly keep from it. 

Mow I Earned My Nickel 

I said to mamma, "I want to earn a nickel." She said, "If 
you will wash the dishes this noon, I will give you a nickel." 
So I went right to work and did them. She gave me my nickel. 

Dear Miss F.: — 

Would your children please help us make the programs for 
our May party? We have the paper down in our room. We 
will be glad to bring it up if you can help us. 

Yours truly. 



18 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Dear Miss F.: — 

We thank you and your ohildren very much for the pro- 
grams that you made for us. They are very nice and we appre- 
ciate them. 

Yours truly. 

Dear Miss F.: — 

We kindly ask you if one of your 4A pupils will please show 
one of us how to make a raffia mat. We will need one for a 
prize at our May-party. 

Yours truly. 

Dear Miss C. and children: — 

We thank you very much for the chains. They decorated 
the room and made it look pretty. We appreciated them very 
much. 

Yours truly. 

Dear Mr. L.: — 

We are very, very much pleased with the napkins you gave 
us. It will save us from buying them now. The flowers around 
them are so pretty. 

Yours truly. 

Miss Stivers' pupils 

request the pleasure of 

Mrs. W. E. Adams' 

company at their May party 

on Tuesday, May third, 

at three o'clock. 

The largest problem was developing the program 
rendered at the party. This called for singing and added 
to the interest in the music lessons. It also called for 
a little play and led the children to dramatize one of their 
Greek history stories. The program rendered was as 
follows : — 



THE MEANING OF MOTIVATION 19 

Program 

Song — The Merry Month of May 

Song — May Song 

Words of Greeting Thelma Long 

Song — Queen of the May 

How we earned the money for our party 

Each of four children read his story 

Song — The Holiday 

Story-Telling — 

The Wind and the Sun Jack Brown 

Three Wishes Lucy Walters 

The Wise King and the Bee Will Lee 

The Frog Who Tried to Make Himself Large. Rosa Karns 

Dramatization — The Story of Hermes 

Song — The May Pole Dance 

Refreshments 

When the party was over and all the courtesies due 
had been attended to, teacher and pupils alike felt that 
they had not only enjoyed having the little social, but 
that they had had an infinitely more valuable series of 
lessons in music, drawing, writing, language, and arith- 
metic than they could have gained in the same time 
merely through the faithful use of their textbooks in 
the usual way. They really felt that they had actually 
used them more, although in every case it had been to 
get help in solving some problem met in planning for the 
party. Every child was eager to have each thing ex- 
actly correct, and so he gladly used any book or got 
any lesson that would help in completing the plans for 
the social. 

Motivated language work. The teaching of language 
work through motivation was determined upon by a 
certain sixth-grade teacher who had secured some very 
satisfactory results through isolated attempts to moti- 
vate her pupils' work. Through one entire semester, 



20 THE MOTIVATION OF 'SCHOOL WORK 

she taught all of the language assigned to her grade 
upon the basis of specific motives operating in the lives 
of her pupils. 

Her purpose as a teacher, of course, was to produce a 
certain growth in language power in her pupils. She 
decided to do this on the basis of actual needs for this 
power felt by the children. In other words, she had her 
pupils meet real situations as they arose, and led them 
to undertake certain enterprises which required the use 
of language power to accomplish the ends attempted. 

At the close of the year an analysis of her work 
showed (l) that every technical aspect of the work as- 
signed her by the course of study had been covered, 
and (2) that much other material not assigned to this 
grade in the course of study or the pages of the lan- 
guage text had been either reviewed or freshly studied 
because a genuine need for it had arisen in the course of 
the work. 

This enriched program of study is almost inevitable 
when the problems undertaken appear to the pupils 
to be real problems in life. They will work like little 
Trojans to solve the difficulties which confront them. 1 

The incentive and the motive. Such a method of 
attack as that given in the preceding incidents supplies 
incentives for work; but it does not stop merely with 
incentives. Incentives are external to the results pro- 
duced by one's efforts. The fond parent who gives his 
child a dollar for each E grade shown on his monthly 
report card, supplies the child with an incentive. But 
the father who says, " When you have learned enough 
arithmetic and manual training to help me build a boat 
for us to sail in, let me know," has supplied the boy 

1 The detailed procedure used in motivating language work, to- 
gether with the results attained, is set forth fully in chapter vi. 



THE MEANING OF MOTIVATION 21 

with a motive for his hours in the school shop and over 
the intricacies of board measure. Motivation goes be- 
yond incentive, supplying larger, more worthy, and less 
selfish ends for attainment, with the result that the 
lesser incentive is sunk in the accomplishment of the 
larger end. This is shown clearly in the incident of 
the children who gave the May-Day party. 

In other words, whereas incentives are superficial 
and external in relation to one's efforts, motives are 
fundamental and vital in determining effort. The in- 
centive is proposed to the child to stimulate him, while 
the motive arises out of his own efforts in self-expres- 
sion and self-realization. Any motive operates as an 
incentive, but no mere incentive constitutes a genuine 
motive. 

Interest and motive. This same method of attack 
also insures the interest of children in their school work, 
for a motive to work is larger than an interest in work. 
The children were intensely interested in all they did 
to give the May-Day party; but their interest was only 
a part of a larger thing, their motive in it all, which 
stimulated them far beyond what mere interest could 
do. 

When one is interested, he responds appreciatively 
to an object or a situation; but his reaction may carry 
him no further. This is necessarily true, since one's 
interests in any environment are many. For example, 
as I go through town every morning to my office, I find 
that many things arrest my attention and interest me. 
As I pass a large real-estate office, I may note a prop- 
erty with which I am familiar advertised for sale at " a 
low figure." I am apt to observe the attractive win- 
dows of a men's furnishing store and to find myself 
especially interested in a suit of clothing, pleasing in 



22 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

pattern and style, and right in price. I am almost cer- 
tain to devote some time to the bookstore window if a 
variety of new books is on display, particularly if one 
of them is a new book on education from a recognized 
leader in the educational world. 

Each of my responses is a manifestation of interest. 
Yet, if I do not purchase the land, the suit, or the book, 
my interest reaction is insufficient to accomplish the 
end desired by the advertiser. The same thing is true in 
school work. If the pupil's response to any stimulus 
ceases with mere interest, even though it be intense, it 
is evident that little progress will be made in the reali- 
zation of the end. 4 

Motive, therefore, goes beyond interest. Howe 1 says : 
" While . . . interests . . . are like railroad ticket forms, 
all printed and ready for the agent to stamp, the mo- 
tive is like the ticket which has been stamped, that is 
validated, and is good until used, unless recalled." 

Our interests incline us more or less strongly to do 
many things, but action in the way of realizing them 
will not occur until we have stamped one or more of 
them as being good for us. The moment I stamp my 
interest in the educational book I saw in the bookshop 
window, — the moment that I decide it will help me in 
my work to possess it, — acquiring it becomes my goal 
for realization. Interest may hold my attention ac- 
tively upon a desired end, but motive renders me 
aggressive in securing it for myself. I go into the shop 
and buy the book. 

While there can be no motive without interest, all 
interests do not result in motives — for example, while 
I buy the book, I do not buy the land. 

To summarize: In the light of the foregoing discus- 
1 Habit Formation, p. 147. 



THE MEANING OF MOTIVATION 23 

sion, it is clear that motivation is accomplished when- 
ever the student sees sufficient reason for the work he is 
doing, and appreciates its value to him personally, and 
whenever his effort is directed toward the accom- 
plishment of some longed-for end, near or remote. As 
soon as a student definitely accepts and pursues an 
ideal, it becomes a motive in his life which determines 
all of the efforts he puts forth in seeking to realize 
it. 

Motivated work, therefore, is definitely purposive in 
a student's life. It contributes to the realization of his 
present aims. Of course, in the pursuit of an end re- 
quiring extended effort, the motive will hardly be suffi- 
cient to keep one at the white heat of enthusiasm 
throughout. At times one's effort will run so low that it 
seems in danger of " fagging out " entirely. The fact 
that it does not demonstrates the imperious force of a 
genuine motive. 

The school as an institution of society must be moti- 
vated. It must recognize that its function in the social 
structure is to produce moral and intelligent citizens. 
But that broad motive is too large to be readily visible. 
Children are incapable of recognizing its value. They 
cannot see the connection between learning long divi- 
sion and being president of the steel works. They 
would much prefer to go chestnutting. Therefore, it is 
in the teaching process that the need of motivation 
becomes most manifest and that its contribution in 
producing the larger result becomes most definitely 
evident. 

The ideal way of taking up the study of any new sub- 
ject is to meet a problem or need which may be solved 
or satisfied by its mastery. The type of attack and the 
form of recitation will naturally vary, but this funda- 



24 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

mental feeling of need for the thing pursued should 
always be present. In speaking of drill work, Strayer 
rightly says : x — 

Ideally, drill lessons should come when the children see that 
their future progress is conditioned by successful formation 
of the habits involved. 

He further adds : — 

A motive must be provided for the work. The stronger 
this incentive, the greater will be the attention given to the 
work in hand and the sooner will the desired results be se- 
cured. Very much of the drill work which is done is well-nigh 
futile because it is imposed upon children. They do not see 
its significance, and feel little interest in the accomplishment 
of the results demanded. 

In discussing the same type of lesson, Bagley 2 like- 
wise urges that " practice should so far as possible be 
effectively motivated," that the student may have " a 
strong incentive for making perfect responses." What 
is true of the need of motivating the drill lesson is true 
of all types of lessons so far as we are able to determine 
from testing it in practice. 

In speaking of the results to be secured to the student 
from the study of physics, Professor Mann shows 3 
clearly that " the problem of securing the best disci- 
pline is the problem of securing the best motivation for 
the work." Again, in urging the importance of moti- 
vating the laboratory work in science, Professor Mann 
says: 4 — 

No scientist ever goes about gathering data unless he thinks 
they will be useful to him in accomplishing something he really 

1 Brief Course in the Teaching Process, p. 42. 

2 Educational Values, p. 19. 3 The Teaching of Physics, p. 195. 
4 Ibid., p. 132. 



THE MEANING OF MOTIVATION 25 

wants to do. It is this desire, this longing to find out on his 
part that furnishes the motive that keeps him at work. Is 
it reasonable to imagine the children will become scientific 
thinkers if we simply put them through the motions called 
for by the steps in the formula unless we also inspire them 
with motives similar to those of real scientists doing real in- 
vestigation? 

The technique of motivated teaching. It is evident 
that the largest problem in the technique of teaching 
consists in supplying in the initial attack and through- 
out the mastery of the work in hand adequate motives 
for the efforts of children. As teachers come to under- 
stand the technique of this method of teaching, they 
will work from the standpoint of motivation just to the 
extent that they think of their work as a series of prob- 
lems and forget the course-of-study limits as expressed 
in the number of pages of grammar or arithmetic that 
must be completed in such-and-such a term. They will 
become conscious of their pupils as social beings, work- 
ing and strengthening their growth and development 
in perfectly normal ways. They will think seriously 
and plan more carefully in terms of child growth and 
development. Teachers must see that the environment 
which affords children the experiences they crave like- 
wise affords the basis for the formal efforts of the school 
in educating its pupils. 

Doubtless it has occurred to the reader that the 
problem of motivation is no more one of finding motives 
that will impel the children to obtain larger results in 
their work than it is of cultivating in them a feeling for 
and a disposition to choose worthy, lofty, uplifting 
motives. This is most effectively done, however, hy so 
organizing our work and methods of procedure that the 
pupil's energy is always entirely consumed in his effort 
to realize some worthy end which is significant to him. 



26 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

As he develops, these ends will become more and more 
worthy. Under the guidance of teachers he will become 
desirous and capable of choosing the less selfish and 
more remote ends, and thus his moral standards will be 
elevated and desirable progress in his complete social- 
ization will be made. 

Teachers must frankly recognize, of course, that with 
our present knowledge we do not see how to supply 
desirable and adequate motives for all of the work it 
seems wise to ask the children to do. Until we do, we 
must go right on imposing work, and rendering it in- 
teresting through the methods of presentation em- 
ployed. We should continue to work faithfully, however, 
feeling that we are weak until this gap is almost, if not 
entirely, filled. Let us have the courage gradually to 
omit such work as seems meaningless to the children. 
There is more significant work already than there is 
time in which to do it. 

Let us remember, also, that time will be required to 
develop a technique of working from the standpoint of 
motivation which will seem as satisfactory as the tech- 
nique it must supplant. The establishment of a new 
technique requires battling against the prejudices of 
the " old school " and against the persistence of the 
habits of thought and action established by it. Progress 
is certain in both matter and method if we move con- 
servatively and wisely. 

Within the compass of a single volume it is impos- 
sible to discuss ways of motivating the entire scope of 
each subject in the course of study; and furthermore 
it is unnecessary. The aim is rather to present clearly 
how such an attack is made with children and then 
to illustrate how typical phases of certain subjects of 
study may be motivated and how the school's standards 



THE MEANING OF MOTIVATION 27 

and requirements in matters of conduct, discipline, 
and control may be made to appeal to children. Not 
only will the attack be indicated in the typical situa- 
tions chosen, but illustrations of the results secured will 
be presented. 



CHAPTER HI 

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 

Child or subject-matter? Psychology has contributed 
to change and progress in the schools through emphasis 
upon the importance of the child, his mental processes, 
and his development. 

What the schools need, and what is proposed through 
motivation, is a change in the inner spirit of the school, 
a change that shall recognize the child as the center of 
the school's efforts, giving to subject-matter a second- 
ary place. In fact the elementary schools need com- 
plete emancipation from the servitude of scientifically 
organized subject-matter. In the elementary schools, 
administrator, teacher, course of study, and the inner 
spirit of the school must become subservient to the child, 
his interests, and the problems that to him are vital. 

Modern psychology strongly supports the view that 
the child should be vitally interested in his work, if the 
largest results are to be secured. Proper interest will 
greatly accelerate his progress. Space will not permit 
an exhaustive treatment of the close relationship exist- 
ing between vital interest and accomplishment. 1 In 
this chapter, the following topics will be discussed in 
order: (1) Interest and moral development; (2) rela- 
tion of interest to apparent fatigue; (3) interest and 
the learning curve; (4) interest and memory; (5) interest 
and formal discipline; (6) the center of method. 

1 E. L. Thorndike, Popular Science Monthly (November, 1912), 
vol. 81, p. 249. 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 29 

Interest and moral development. (1) If a child is 
constantly held to work in which he has no interest, 
he gradually develops the habit of divided attention, 
neglect of the work in hand, pretense, and activity 
only sufficient to satisfy the teacher or the one imposing 
the task. He weakens his moral nature, he tends con- 
stantly toward deception and hypocrisy. No experi- 
enced teacher can have failed to notice this tendency. 
John is not interested in his grammar. The work is 
upon the conjugation of the verb. It is abstract work. 
It is difficult. It makes no appeal to John. However, 
he is held in line by the threats of his teacher, the fear of 
failing of promotion, the coaxing and admonition of his 
parents, the dread of the disapproval of his classmates, 
and other like considerations. The task in hand con- 
tinues to be abstract and uninteresting. He sees no use 
in it. In itself it makes no appeal to him. Nevertheless, 
John conforms, — but how? Does he throw his whole 
soul into the work, seeing its value and determining to 
profit by it? Far from it! He gives just enough atten- 
tion and energy to satisfy the teacher, parent, and class- 
mate. He thinks of the ball game while trying to study 
his grammar. Again and again he finds his attention 
drifting, and again and again he pulls himself together 
for the work before him. When the class is called, he 
is not prepared, but defends himself, if discovered, by 
saying that he put in full time upon the assignment. 
Anyway, he is about as well prepared as the others. 
He steals furtive glances at his open book, listens for 
whispered promptings from his classmates, " dodges 
and ducks," and comes away from the recitation more 
convinced than ever that the whole thing amounts to 
nothing. 

Can any one doubt the harmful moral effect of the 



30 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

situation just described? It would be somewhat, but 
not greatly, improved if the intellectual results were 
satisfactory. For " to possess all the world of knowl- 
edge and lose one's own self " is as awful a fate in edu- 
cation as in religion! Dr. Dewey made this clear enough 
in his doctrine of interest and will. 1 We know that 
right moral results can come only when the child's self 
is thoroughly identified with his task. But practice has 
been modified very slowly. Much of our elementary 
instruction is mediaeval. A great work remains to be 
done in bringing our schools up to the new ideal. 

Relation of interest to apparent fatigue. (2) The dis- 
cussion of fatigue in this connection will be directed to 
answering two questions that are germane to the gen- 
eral discussion of motivation and the relation of interest 
to school work. First: Does ordinary school work pro- 
duce fatigue sufficient to result in inability to do good 
work? Second: If not, how may the results of apparent 
fatigue be overcome in school work? 

No attempt will be made to apply a-priori methods 
in answering the above questions. The work of solving 
psychological problems cannot be done by a-priori 
argument, and an awakened intelligence among the 
teaching profession is gradually refusing to listen to 
such argument. This same awakened intelligence is 
demanding that tests be carefully made. Mosso's tests 2 
resulting in the well-known fatigue curve could not 
have failed to give diminished results from pupils at 
10.30 a.m. and at 3 p.m. But the tests were not well 
chosen. Go into your schoolroom at 8.30 a.m. with 
tests in arithmetic. Keep these tests up until noon. 

1 John Dewey, "Interest as Related to Will," Herbart Y ear-Book 
(1895); also Interest and Effort, Houghton Mifflin Company. 

2 E. L. Thorndike, "Mental Fatigue," Psychological Review (1900). 
Reprint by The Macmillan Company. 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 31 

After noon continue them until evening. Then plot the 
curve of your results. It will without a doubt show 
constantly diminished results. But are the diminished 
results due to mental fatigue, per se, or to disgust at the 
foolishness of your procedure in continuing a single line 
of work throughout the entire day? 

Suppose you put your tests in a different form. Give 
a three-minute arithmetic test at 8.30 a.m. on Monday; 
a similar three-minute test at 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday; 
another at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday; and so on at 11.30, 
1.30, 2.30, and 3.30, until the tests have extended up 
to the close of the school day. If the tests have been 
made interesting and have been directed by a skillful 
and popular teacher, the results will be quite different 
from the results of the former tests. Instead of con- 
stantly diminishing returns, the results will show al- 
most constant ability, with a slight increase that may 
be charged to the practice results of the tests them- 
selves. 

The above tests, and many similar ones, have actu- 
ally been made. The results are known to be as indi- 
cated. Dr. Thorndike and his students have carried 
their tests far enough to state, without fear of disproof, 
that no actual mental fatigue results from ordinary 
school work. " The school work in the case of the school 
tested did not decrease one jot or tittle the ability of 
the pupils to do mental work." * 

Dr. Thorndike reports eight tests upon people of 
various ages, before and after supposed mental fatigue. 
From all of these it appears that inability to perform 
mental work does not result from supposed mental 
fatigue. There is lack of desire, but not lack of ability. 

1 E. L. Thorndike, "Mental Fatigue," Psychological Review (1900). 
Reprint by The Macmillan Company. 



32 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

A typical illustration from this series is Experiment 
Six. After a hard day's work, and with much apparent 
mental fatigue, the subject began at 3.00 p.m. to solve 
mentally four-place multiplication problems, a sample 
problem being 8967 X 4532 = ? For more than two 
hours he continued this work with a speed practically 
constant, the time in minutes for the nine problems 
solved being 12.1, 10.2, 19.5, 12.4, 16.0, 17.3, 15.5, 14.2, 
11.5. 

In a series of tests x upon school-children, the results 
were similar, — " they do as well at the close of the day 
as at the beginning.' ' The summary of the tests indi- 
cates that ordinary school-children are not fatigued by 
a day's school work, and that they do as well late in the 
day as early; as well after apparent mental fatigue as 
before. A further set of five experiments reported by 
Dr. Thorndike reinforces the conclusion from the other 

1 Following is a brief summary of the results of six tests: 
Experiment 1. Four-place written multiplication; as, 9867 X 3425. 
Results. Before fatigue — 375 students, 3359 units of work, 1004 
mistakes. 

After fatigue — 375 students, 3333 units of work, 1044 
mistakes. 
Experiment 2. Correcting misspelled words on a printed page. 
Results. Before fatigue — 4917 lines, 10,482 words marked, 195 
marked wrong. 

After fatigue — 4871 lines, 11,385 words marked, 191 
marked wrong. 
Experiment 3. Reproducing figure series. 
Results. Before fatigue — 3006 correct figures. 

After fatigue — 3060 correct figures. 
Experiment 4. Reproducing nonsense series. 
Results. Before fatigue — 1081 correct. 

After fatigue — 1056 correct. 
Experiment 5. Reproducing letter series. 
Results. Before fatigue — 997 correct. 

After fatigue — 995 correct. 
Experiment 6. Reproducing geometric forms. 
Results. Before fatigue — 628 correct. 

After fatigue — 594 correct. 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 33 

experiments. The curves showing results were practi- 
cally level, the result of training on the whole being 
stronger than the result of fatigue. 

No doubt there is a limit where mental fatigue and 
exhaustion are reached, but it has been satisfactorily 
proved that no such limit is reached with normal pu- 
pils because of ordinary school work. But there is 
apparent fatigue and decreased output near the close 
of the day in most schoolrooms. How do you account 
for it? Dr. Thorndike concludes that the decreased 
output is not due to a lack of ability, but to distractions 
and to a lack of desire and interest. The remedy is 
not to shorten the day, but to make afternoon work 
interesting and worth while. " The chief responsibility 
for mental fatigue in the schools and for mental ex- 
haustion in scholars falls upon the unwise choice of 
materials for study, the unwise direction of effort, the 
unwise inhibition of pleasurable activities, the unwise 
abuse of sense organs, and the unattractiveness of 
teacher and teaching." 

This view shifts to the teacher's shoulders the bur- 
den of the responsibility for apparent fatigue in the 
schoolroom. The work must be interesting. Indiffer- 
ence must be overcome by motive. Repugnance must 
be cured by interest and variety. The sense of depriva- 
tions must be overcome by good air, freedom of move- 
ment, and an impelling interest in the successful com- 
pletion of the work in hand. In short, this study of 
fatigue is a strong argument in favor of the enrichment 
and motivation of school work; in favor of making the 
child's vital interests more fully the center of the ele- 
mentary-school program. 

Interest and the learning curve. (3) Bryan and Bar- 
ter's development of the learning curve in connection 



34 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

with their studies of the telegraphic language * showed 
plateaus or periods of non-progress in the receiving 
curve. The sending curve was without plateaus and 
almost regular. Why the plateaus, or periods of non- 
progress, in the receiving curve, and were they neces- 
sary? Swift's improvement curve for ball-tossing 2 
showed regular and well-developed plateaus. Dr. Swift 
agreed with Dr. Bryan and Mr. Harter that plateaus 
were a necessary part of learning and accepted the 
Bryan and Harter explanation of the causes of plateaus. 
But this was clearly a case of reaching a conclusion on 
too insufficient data. Bryan and Harter experimented 
on a single subject, and Swift was his own subject in 
the ball-tossing experiments. It remained for Dr. Book 3 
to conceive of an experiment in the acquisition of skill 
in typewriting on a scale large enough and with records 
sufficient to enable him to draw authoritative conclu- 
sions. Dr. Book employed eleven subjects in his ex- 
periment. If a single subject developed a curve without 
a plateau, it would indicate that plateaus are not a 
necessary accompaniment of learning. Dr. Book found 
that plateaus are not necessary, but that they are al- 
most sure to occur with any subject. His explanation is 
of interest to us in this discussion. Plateaus, critical 
periods, or periods of non-progress develop with the 
learner because of fluctuations in attention and effort. 
Lime dust from the tennis court divided Y's attention 
and lowered his score on one day. Any distraction, 
worry, or nervousness lowered the score of a subject. 

1 Bryan and Harter, "Telegraphic Language," Psychological Review 
(1897), vol. 4, p. 27; ibid. (1899), vol. 6, p. 345. 

2 Swift, Mind in the Making, chap, vi; American Journal of Psy- 
chology (1908), vol. 14, p. 201. 

3 Book, Psychology of Skill. The University of Montana, Psycholog- 
ical Bulletin 53, series 1. 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 35 

The best work and the most constant improvement 
were recorded when attention was spontaneous and 
undivided and when the hygienic condition of the sub- 
ject gave perfect neural tone. 

If the learning process is not necessarily accom- 
panied by periods of non-progress, if under proper con- 
ditions the learning process 
is regular and steadily up- 
ward, then the energy of the 
teacher should be bent to- 
ward securing the proper / 
conditions. And the most 



important condition for pro- learning curve when 

r ** CONDITIONS ARE IDEAL 

gress — spontaneous undi- 
vided attention — is best secured by giving the pupil 
a problem of vital interest to him, a thoroughly moti- 
vated situation. 

Interest and memory. (4) Common observation con- 
vinces us that the tenacity with which anything is 
remembered varies greatly. But in the last analysis 
the interest of the learner is found to be the chief deter- 
mining factor. Where there is no particular or vital 
interest at stake, the nature of the material — its ra- 
tionality and coherence — makes a great difference in 
the tenacity with which it is remembered. Again the 
concreteness of a situation, or the extent to which an 
individual brings bodily activity into the experience, 
increases the length of time that it will be remembered. 

It is possible to be more specific and to give figures 
that have resulted from experiment and proof. Ebbing- 
haus, working with nonsense syllables, 1 concludes that 
one half is forgotten in one hour, two thirds in a day. 

1 See Memory, by Herman Ebbinghaus, translated by Ruger and 
Bussenius. 



36 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

There is little incentive to remember a nonsense com- 
bination such as " ba-ta-sem-re-to-mi-lu-des." But 
suppose the syllables are part of a code, that they are 
received by a general in command of the armies of a 
nation, and that they mean " A division of the enemy, 
50,000 strong, is attempting to turn your right flank." 
Under such circumstances, would the general have any 
difficulty in reproducing the message in code form, in 
transmitting it to others, and in remembering it as long 
as necessary? The ease with which it is remembered is 
due to the fact that it has taken on significance, vital 
significance. His fortune, his honor, and the fate of a 
nation are at stake. To him the syllables are not non- 
sense. They are charged with meaning, and a meaning 
that affects the greatest purposes of his life. 

There are few, if any, experienced supervisors who 
have not seen school work as devoid of meaning to 
children as the nonsense syllables of Ellinghaus — the 
infinitive when presented abstractly to sixth-grade 
pupils, for instance. The pupils should not be censured 
for forgetting it. Rather the teacher should be cen- 
sured for presenting it. 

Thorndike's study of paired associates * showed a 
higher memory efficiency than for nonsense syllables 
because of the greater rationality of the material. The 
experiment involved the learning of the English equi- 
valents of twelve hundred German words by twenty- 
two adults. Memory tests were given after each study 
period, thirty-six hours after the close of the experi- 
ment, and again thirty days later. Thorndike concluded 
that, with reference to paired associates, " it would not 
be far amiss to say that the central tendency would be 

1 E. L. Thorndike, "Memory for Faired Associates," Psychological 
Review (March, 1908), vol. 15, p. 122. 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 37 

a loss of one twentieth in an hour, one tenth in three 
days, and between four tenths and five tenths in forty 
days." The matter involved in this experiment is fairly 
representative of ordinary school work, where there is 
a reasonable understanding, but no incentive in the way 
of a vital personal motive for success. We may expect, 
therefore, that the forgetting rate for paired associates 
will apply to most of the verbal-thought work called 
for in our schools, and that one half is forgotten in 
forty days. This is a sad comment on the efficiency of 
our schools. Is it not about time that we were con- 
sulting the child as to his interests and purposes in 

100$ 



50$ 



\* 50* 



t r 



---r 



10 20 30 40 days 12 3 4 years 

FORGETTING CURVES FOR VERBAL-THOUGHT MATERIAL (A), 
AND FOR MOTOR-SKILL {£) 

order that we may find more significant matter for our 
school work? 

The curve A in the above diagram is a typical for- 
getting curve for verbal-thought matter. With non- 
sense syllables it would go down more quickly, and 
would extend less indefinitely. The more meaning, the 
more interest, the more personal motive there is in- 
volved, the less quickly the curve falls. For motor 
activity, and especially motor activity that gives plea- 
sure and success, the curve (see B) falls but little. On 
the F-axis it may be plotted with years instead of days, 
and it will extend indefinitely. The skilled axe-man 
may not handle an axe for years, but his hand loses 
none of its cunning. The swimmer cannot forget how 
to swim, and does not hesitate to plunge into a river 



38 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

after years of absence from the water. The brain 
likes the motor response and gives a reward accord- 
ingly. It is a difficult matter to attempt to transmit 
the culture of the ages through the muscles, but there 
is much of the so-called culture that we are quite as 
well off without. In fact, we are soon without it even 
if we get it. We should present knowledge to children 
that is useful and usable, and we should put meaning 
and purpose into all school work. Meaningless mate- 
rial is six or seven times as difficult to get *■ and it is 
soon lost. When we consider the measured difference 
in results on nonsense material, verbal-thought mate- 
rial, and motor activity, it certainly argues strongly 
in favor of making school work significant, basing it 
upon the pupil's vital interests, and thoroughly vital- 
izing and motivating it. 

Interest and formal discipline. (5) The doctrine of 
formal discipline as formerly held was constantly quoted 
as justification for the unreasonable things done in the 
schools. In fact the extreme supporters of this doctrine 
believed that subject-matter was made more valuable 
for training by its lack of inherent interest or vital 
appeal to the child. The work of education was con- 
ceived as the training of general powers, such as atten- 
tion, reasoning, memory, and will, with the belief that 
training developed in one field was available for trans- 
fer and use upon an undertaking in any other field. 
Such a theory greatly simplifies educational procedure 
and enables us to assume relative indifference as to the 
selection of subject-matter. As educators, we really 
hope that the theory does contain much truth. How- 
ever, common observation shows us that training does 
not spread; quite the contrary. The man with book 
1 C. S. Myers, Educational Psychology, chaps, xn, xin. 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 39 

knowledge is expected to show lack of ability along other 
lines and he usually does. The minister is easily duped; 
the school man has little business ability; the inventor 
permits the shrewd business man to reap the benefits 
of his genius. 

Modern experimental psychology confirms the view 
of general observation, and experiments tend to dis- 
credit the doctrine of formal discipline. At the conclu- 
sion of extended experiments on judging magnitudes, 
Thorndike says: 1 " It is misleading to speak of atten- 
tion, memory, observation, as there is no reason to sup- 
pose that any general change occurs corresponding to 
improvement in attention. " The improvement which 
does occur is the improvement in training, in doing the 
particular thing in hand, and in getting more defi% 
nitely in mind a unit of measure for this and similar 
work. 

The conclusions of Thorndike are confirmed by 
Ruger 2 and others. Ruger concludes that transfer of 
training to closely related fields is approached through 
the acquisition of ideals of efficiency and through the 
learning of methods of control. It appears, therefore, 
that, even when the conscious effort is made to secure 
or to discover transfer of training, very little is discov- 
erable. The mind is not an organization of general 
faculties, but, on the contrary, on its dynamic side, is 
" a machine for making particular reactions to particu- 
lar situations." 

What does all of this mean for the schools? If we 
abandon the view of the older psychology as to formal 
discipline and accept the now established view, it 

1 E. L. Thorndike, "The Influence of Improvement in One Mental 
Function upon the Efficiency of other Mental Functions," Psycholog- 
ical Review (May, July, and November, 1901). 

2 W. A. Ruger, The Psychology of Efficiency. 



40 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

means that the selection of subject-matter is no longer 
unimportant. On the contrary, if school work is to 
function in the life of the pupil, it means that subject- 
matter and method must in themselves be worth while 
and significant. It means that after the child has ac- 
quired a mastery of the simple tools of knowledge, 
then subject-matter and procedure are all-important if 
schooling is to count as a positive force in the life of the 
pupil. In history, it means that the questions taken up 
for study and the method of attacking those questions 
should be such as to raise a conscious ideal of thorough- 
ness in research in investigating any political question. 
It means that not only a method should be consciously 
developed, but that the pupil should be led consciously 
to make the transfer to the solution of significant pres- 
ent-day political questions. The clap-trap methods by 
which votes are secured to-day and the rareness of any 
thorough investigation of political questions by voters, 
indicate strongly that there is little transfer, even of 
method of procedure, from our former history teach- 
ing. It stops with teaching us how to study history when 
in school. We are certainly justified in insisting, not 
that the book shall be completed, not that rigid exami- 
nations upon facts shall be satisfactorily passed, but 
that, in the absence of a social organization of our course 
of study, the topics or questions discussed shall be such 
as to appeal to the child's vital interests if possible, and 
that the teaching shall be such as to establish a con- 
scious ideal of efficiency which shall be applied con- 
sciously to the solution of problems of present interest. 
This means that educational procedure must cease to be 
static and formal, that it must become vital and dy- 
namic. 
The center of method. (6) In this section we shall 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION 41 

merely submit briefly that the center of method is not 
a subject logically organized, not a child psychologi- 
cally analyzed, nor even a combination of the two. The 
center of method is a real problem, a child's real prob- 
lem; a problem that a particular child has encountered 
and in the solution of which he is vitally interested. 

This is a high ideal for the teacher, but not an im- 
possible one. It would be easier with six pupils than 
with thirty or forty. But why use mass play all of the 
time? Why not break the class up into congenial, 
mutually interested groups for much of their work? 
Are we as teachers so tied to routine that we are unable 
to accept the consequences of an ideal? What may not 
the future hold for us if some one will but show us a 
better way? 

The motivated work herein advocated could be jus- 
tified in general terms by a study of the child's basal 
instincts; but the bearing is not direct enough. Con- 
siderations of a child's instincts are especially valuable 
in the early stages of school work, the work of acquir- 
ing the tools of knowledge. The instincts of curiosity, 
of self-assertion, of construction, and of acquisition 
are especially valuable in school work. The same is 
true of imitation. Even the instincts of pugnacity and 
fear may be turned to good account. But these in- 
stincts, as well as the fundamental sentiments, are very 
general. They do not point toward specific work. They 
do not help much in the selection of subject-matter. 
They have too frequently been used to justify anti- 
quated methods and petrified subject-matter. To show 
their bearing upon motivation will require a separate 
and more extended treatment. 

The six lines of evidence presented above should con- 
vince the teacher that the idea of motivating school 



42 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

work is scientifically supported; that it is not a mere 
whim or fad, but that it has come gradually to be 
recognized as one of the most important and powerful 
factors in successful school work; and that it deserves 
immediate attention in the further organization of 
school work. It should lead every teacher to examine 
her work critically, to abandon formal textbook proce- 
dure and traditions, and to place the child, his interests, 
his real problems in the foreground in all teaching work. 
She should organize around the child. He is sacred; 
subject-matter is not. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF MOTIVES 

The analysis of motive. In planning the technique 
of her lessons, one of the teacher's first questions is, 
What are the sources of children's motives for master- 
ing subject-matter and meeting the various require- 
ments of the school? This is one of the most constant 
problems of the teacher. She needs to know the sources 
of motives that she may proceed wisely in using 
them. There are but few discussions in educational 
literature relating directly to the question. It is the 
purpose of this chapter to discuss the origin and sources 
of those motives which may be used in vitalizing school 
work. 

In a number of his addresses and papers dealing with 
the subject-matter and methods of teaching in the ele- 
mentary schools, Dewey has indicated how genuine 
motivation of the work may be accomplished. The fol- 
lowing quotation 1 gives the point of view maintained 
directly or by implication throughout his discussions : — 

When the subject-matter has been psychologized, that is, 
viewed as an outgrowth of present tendencies and activities, 
it is easy to locate in the present some obstacle, intellectual, 
practical, or ethical, which can be handled more adequately 
if the truth in question be mastered. This need supplies mo- 
tive for the learning. An end which is the child's own carries 
him on to possess the means of its accomplishment. But when 
material is directly supplied in the form of a lesson to be 

1 John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum (Chicago, 1902), 
p. 32 Jf. The italics are ours. 



44 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

learned as a lesson, the connecting links of need and aim are 
conspicuous for their absence. What we mean by the me- 
chanical and dead in instruction is a result of this lack of moti- 
vation. 

In other discussions Dewey 1 speaks of the problem 
as a motive for learning and of the ideal as a motive 
for doing. He also shows how motive arises out of in- 
terest. 

Charters's treatment of motives, following Dewey, 
concerns itself particularly with the development of 
motives for the mastery of the subject-matter in school 
studies. He shows that motives arise out of or operate 
in the form of interests, needs, and problems. He says : 2 

Interest, need, and problem are all forms of motive. 

Again: — 

There is no such thing as doing work in which one is not 
interested, or for which one does not have a need, implicit or 
conscious. 

And, again, he shows that, in seeking to accomplish 
certain results with children, — 

subject-matter is used, subject-matter for which there is often 
no motive until the pupils recognize the necessity of learning 
this subject-matter in order to acquire control over their im- 
mediate interests. This recognition of lack of control on the 
part of the learner is called need. The problem is related 
closely to need [elsewhere he shows it is a phase of need] and 
both are necessary motives for the acquisition of new subject- 
matter. 

In his discussion of motives, Rowe 3 points out the 
complexity of their origin as follows : — 

In so far as motive may represent a large genus of impulses, 
it includes as species those instincts, emotions, and interests 
which are known really to have moving power. . . . Aside 

1 John Dewey, Interest and Effort in Education (Boston), p 2. 

2 W. W. Charters, Methods of Teaching (Chicago, 1912), p. 146 ff. 
8 Stuart H. Rowe, Habit-Formation (New York, 1909), p. 147 ff. 



THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF MOTIVES 45 

from the instinctive and emotional species of motive, and per- 
haps built up out of raw material of similar sort, there are 
motives of a distinctly cognitive or reflective origin. Below 
the plane of a child's or an adult's ideal at different stages are 
the planes of his principles, his definite purposes, his stand- 
ards, his rules of conduct, what he really intends to live up to, 
the whole mass of intentions that have grown out of previous 
experiences with life's many concrete situations. 

An accountant may have no desire to work overtime; but 
when some one comes to him with a special difficulty, stating 
that he will pay well any expert who will help him out of the 
tangle, the accountant may consent. He thinks, "It will pay 
me, i.e., a motive has been given me; this corresponds to the 
kind of thing I allow myself to do." 

He may then do the Work partly from instinctive motives, 
like pride, curiosity, ambition, or kindliness, or because of 
emotional motives, such as the pleasure he anticipates in 
solving the difficulty, helping a friend, or repaying a favor; 
or he may do it with direct interest in his work as a motive, 
eagerness to get as well acquainted as possible with all its 
phases; finally, he may do it because he "needs the money," 
though in this last case the real motives are hidden, being 
really those which determine what he does with his money. 
The money-getting has perhaps only a secondary or bor- 
rowed, an "indirect" interest. 

It is evidently impossible in given instances to separate 
these various instincts, emotions, interests, and motives, since 
motives include all the other really active forms of tendency, 
linking with them a peculiar endorsing tendency. x 

Instinct the basis of motive. Fundamentally, of 
course, the motives which shape our conduct and spur 
us on to do worthy things are rooted in instinct, as 
Rowe shows. Practically, however, in the actual ex- 
periences of life, seldom does either the student or the 
teacher think of the relation of the vitalizing motive 
to its instinctive basis. Rather,, the student finds him- 
self spurred to effort by some practical need he feels, 
by an interesting problem which he meets, by a ques- 
tion he is anxious to answer. The teacher's work in 
1 Italics ours. 



46 -TEE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

motivating the pupil's efforts is so to organize and 
direct the situation that the need, problem, or question 
arises in a vital, personal way. Undoubtedly this was 
the relation sustained by the teacher to all the efforts 
of the class which gave the May-Day party described 
on pp. 15-19. In the working-out of the problems raised 
by the party a number of instincts were brought into 
action, such as construction, sociability, play, rivalry, 
ambition, and love of approbation. 

The large number of instincts brought into play in 
giving the party illustrates very well the complicated 
instinctive basis of the motives which vitalize our 
efforts in all our daily tasks. Even the acts of children 
in school grow out of social experiences mainly. They 
are not mere simple acts, each resulting from a single 
instinctive tendency. 

The more the teacher knows about children's in- 
stincts and about how to use them in the educative 
process, the better is she equipped to find and carry out 
ways of vitalizing the school work of her pupils. Every 
teacher should possess an accurate working knowledge 
of one or more good treatments of children's instincts. 1 
As Bagley 2 points out, " It is with these that educa- 
tion must start, and upon these its processes must ul- 
timately be based, no matter how far it goes or how 
elaborately it organizes and refines its methods." 

But while the educative process is based upon the 
instincts, they are, after all, only the basis. 3 Educa- 

1 See Kirkpatrick, Fundamentals of Child Study (New York, 1904), 
pp. 51-224; Rowe, Habit-Formation (New York, 1909), pp. 73-182; 
Bagley, Educational Values (New York, 1911), chap. I. 
^ 2 See Bagley, op. cit., p. 5. 

8 See Bagley, op. cit., p. 8 ff., for a clear statement in reference to 
the limitations of any educational system depending wholly upon the 
automatic operation of the instincts for its results. 



THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF MOTIVES 47 

tion must enable the pupil, working upon the basis of 
his instinctive tendencies, to become free from the 
operation of blind instinct and to control his acts in the 
light of experience and conscious purpose. 

While the teacher will derive great help from know- 
ing well the instinctive basis of her pupils for an interest 
in and a mastery of their school tasks, yet she must not 
expect that merely by equipping herself with a com- 
plete list, of children's instincts she can supply impel- 
ling motives for all their school work. In the main the 
teacher does not lead her pupils to motives for work in 
terms of separate instincts. Their motives begin in the 
complex acts of normal children — such as writing a 
letter or playing a game. The teacher takes her cue 
for motivating her class work from what she sees her 
children doing, or trying to do, when undirected. She 
finds certain typical goals for which children strive. 
These are directly useful in enabling her to get her pupils 
to develop the ability she wants them to have in their 
school work. 

These typical goals for which children naturally 
strive vary somewhat with the age of the children and 
with the variety and maturity of their experience; but 
the following tentative classification represents fairly 
adequately the different types of motives which are 
effective in impelling children to enthusiastic effort in 
their school work. 

Different types of motive. 1. Earning money and 
acquiring property. Practically irrespective of the child's 
age or condition, difficult tasks become attractive if one 
result of his work is having some money or property 
of his own. 

This is seen in the eagerness with which children do 
such work about the home as washing dishes, caring 



48 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

for the furnace, getting the milk, and so on, if a small 
weekly wage is paid. Many children always enter any 
writing contest offering an opportunity for earning 
money. In many cities where gardening is taught in 
the schools, large numbers of children plant gardens 
at home, tilling them with great care and marketing 
their products faithfully, because of the money they can 
earn. Such tasks are willingly and enthusiastically 
done. The money earned lifts the work required en- 
tirely out of the realm of drudgery. 

Groups of children are similarly stimulated by oppor- 
tunities to do something so they can earn money which 
they need. This is frequently seen in the group efforts 
of a club or of a class in school, They need some furni- 
ture, perhaps, or wish to present a gift, so they give an 
entertainment, or develop a play, or hold some sort of 
festival. 

2. Competing for results, a reward, or an honor. Any 
one of these goals becomes a strong motive. A variety 
of instincts are appealed to; as, ownership, ambition, 
emulation, rivalry, love of approbation, courage. 

The enthusiasm and hard work involved in spelling, 
oratorical, musical, and debating contests are accounted 
for by this native tendency in children to compete for 
results and to win honors. 

3. Playing games. Any responsibility taken or work 
done through play or through taking part in a game 
is strongly motivated. A child willingly prepares and 
practices that he may do his part well in a game. He 
sees that his only right to take part with the group en- 
gaged in the game is ability to aid in winning the game. 
The fact that the ability gained in play is useful does 
not lessen in the least, the child's enjoyment nor his 
wish to improve his ability so that he can be a leader. 



THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF MOTIVES 49 

Modern education makes large use of the interest 
of children in such games as the relay race in spelling 
and numbers; bean-bag in language, spelling, and num- 
bers; mail-carrier and Santa Claus in beginning read- 
ing; baseball in spelling and numbers; and so on. A 
large variety of games are employed in language work; 
in teaching polite usage and the correct use of idiomatic 
language. Dramatization, which is so much used in 
reading and language work, gets results because of the 
interest of children in games. 

4. Making things. The constructive instinct is strong 
in children of all ages. Anything involving the manipu- 
lation of materials enabling the child to express an 
individual or a group conception appeals strongly to 
him and renders a task involving prolonged effort and 
arduous work attractive to him. 

All of the constructive and manual- training work in 
the schools is based upon this interest of children. It 
results in the children's making simple birthday, or 
Christmas, or Valentine gifts for parents or other rela- 
tives. Often the children of an entire room or class 
unite to produce such articles as a bookcase, a daven- 
port, a rug, a couch cover, or a set of curtains for use 
in the principal's office or about the corridor or in the 
library. 

5. Entertaining. The instincts of imitation, play, 
sociability, expression, ambition, rivalry, love of appro- 
bation, pride, and so on, find expression in entertain- 
ing. Children are aroused to wonderful effort in plan- 
ning to delight a company of guests and in carrying 
out their plans. 

It is very common for a child to give his playmates 
a little party at his home on his birthday or some holi- 
day occasion. Even Joweivgrade school-children Jike 



50 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

to prepare for a little " at home " to their parents and 
invite them to the school. The wise teacher gains from 
such an effort by the children's excellent motives for 
good work in all the lessons the parents see and for all 
the responsibilities the children carry in inviting, wel- 
coming, and entertaining their parents. It is very com- 
mon, of course, for the girls in domestic-science classes 
to entertain school officials, prominent citizens, or their 
parents when they give a "demonstration" dinner at 
the end of their domestic-science course. 

6. Sharing. The activity of sharing is very similar 
to that of entertaining and rests upon the same instinc- 
tive tendencies. Just as the adult wishes to share with 
his friends the results of his labors, be they delicious 
apples, fragrant roses, a model dairy, or an exquisite 
painting, so children wish to share the products of their 
labors. Hard work becomes a delight when there is the 
prospect ahead of sharing with others the results of their 
efforts. 

Good schools plan to give the children large oppor- 
tunities for sharing with one another. Any interesting 
experience enjoyed by a group of children is shared 
with others who might enjoy it and profit by it. They 
may write it up and lend the papers to other rooms, or 
send children who talk well to different rooms to tell of 
the experience. The school assembly in which the en- 
tire school meets is an excellent place for sharing with 
the entire school the best any room produces. The 
preparation of the matter to be given at such an as- 
sembly is highly motivated by the native interest of 
children in sharing with one another. 

7. Advancing one's self in the estimation of others. 
What person is not happy in a task, almost regardless 
of its difficulty, if he sees that it will enable him to rise 



THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF MOTIVES 51 

worthily in the esteem of others for whose good opinion 
he cares? School-children strive hard for good grades, 
that the teacher and principal may think well of them, 
that they may merit the esteem of their classmates, 
and that they may please rather than disappoint their 
parents and others who care about their progress. 

8. Promoting self -development. This motive appeals 
more strongly with advancing years. It leads the stu- 
dent to undertake tasks involving long periods of effort, 
sometimes months or even years. It impels the student 
of science to undertake difficult and extended investi- 
gations, to assume great risks, and to endure great 
privation. Success is assured when this motive becomes 
dominant. 

Under the influence of this motive, students are found 
not only meeting the requirements of the teacher in the 
preparation of lessons, but visiting scientific and his- 
torical collections and going to other sources of help 
outside of the school, such as to the city, college, or 
state library. Such students also insist upon solving 
their difficult problems and performing their science 
experiments unaided. 

9. Preserving products and collections. This motive 
has a strong basis in the instincts of collecting, owner- 
ship, preservation. Children collect and preserve beau- 
tiful stones, postage-stamps, pictures, postal cards, 
playthings, and so on. Older persons preserve letters, 
gifts, heirlooms, or scientific collections. This motive 
may be invoked in getting pupils to keep well-organ- 
ized outlines and complete notebooks in the work cov- 
ered in history, literature, and science. 

10. Mastering and conquering. The instinct to sub- 
ordinate and control both matter and persons is one 
of the most imperious of man's tendencies. It asserts 



52 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

itself in infancy in the child's desire to know, to under- 
stand, and to rule or to lead in his group. It grows in 
strength with succeeding successes and is checked only 
when ambition is crushed. The presence of this tend- 
ency in children is the school's greatest hope of getting 
the pupils to do their work. The school should train 
the children to solve problems and to meet difficulties 
unfalteringly. 

11. Fitting for a life-career. While not functional in 
early childhood, the goal of preparing for a successful 
life-career becomes a strong motive quite early with 
ambitious children. Under the stimulus of this motive 
programs of work and hard tasks extending over a series 
of years are undertaken with enthusiasm and deter- 
mination. An appeal to the child's desire for future suc- 
cess is seldom devoid of results and is most often met 
with a hearty response and a renewed will to work. 

Many other motives help in determining the conduct 
and efforts of adults. A large number of motives arise 
out of one's social conditions and out of his obligations, 
appreciations, and ideals. The possession of a wife and 
family adds a strong motive for faithfulness and suc- 
cess. Being a public servant gives a strong motive for 
meeting one's obligations, that he may appear to set 
the proper example. Through their investigations and 
writing, leaders of thought come to feel the spur of the 
motive of obligation, causing them to support further 
the theories and views and practices for which they 
have become responsible to the public. Appreciating 
the influence of his acts upon others and feeling a con- 
cern for the welfare of others, develop in one those 
motives which render him temperate and abstemious 
and which inspire him to exemplary conduct. Likewise 
a person's definite ideals are dominating motives, im- 



THE ORIGIN AND SOURCES OF MOTIVES 53 

pelling him to effort and to conduct which will enable 
him to attain his ideals. While these motives shape the 
conduct of adults, they hardly have enough influence 
in childhood and youth to make them important in 
planning the details of the technique of teaching. 

The typical lines of attack, indicated above, will be 
of service in motivating school work only as the skill- 
ful teacher in the execution of her work takes advan- 
tage of the ends which appeal to children. How those 
ends may serve as cues to the teacher, and how she may 
employ them in motivating the school's requirements, 
exercises, and tasks, will appear in the discussion of the 
results which may be secured in the various subjects of 
study when the children's efforts are genuinely moti- 
vated. We shall also see how the details of employing 
any one of the types of motives vary with the age of 
the children, with the particular situation giving rise 
to the task undertaken, and with the subject of study. 



CHAPTER V 

THE MOTIVATION OF READING 

Establishing the motive. Probably all would agree 
that the ability and disposition to read constitute the 
largest result of the school's work with children. Abil- 
ity to read is the characteristic mark of literacy. " Read- 
ing maketh a full man." It is the most economical 
means of gaining the ideas of other people and is abso- 
lutely necessary in keeping abreast of the times. 

While children enter the public schools for the first 
time with considerable ability in the use of oral lan- 
guage, few of them possess the ability to read. The 
problem of proceeding from no ability in reading to the 
desired ability is a difficult one. It is a task requiring 
years of effort and patience. It requires the mastery of 
the highly complicated mechanical system which so- 
ciety has developed for expressing and recording 
thought. How complicated it is, the educated adult 
scarcely realizes unless, after reaching maturity, he has 
undertaken to acquire the ability to read an unfamiliar 
foreign language, say Greek or Russian, which presents 
both a new alphabet and new methods of expressing 
ideas. Even the problem of learning a foreign language 
at maturity can only approximate the difficulties of the 
six-year-old child who takes up the task of learning to 
read from his new book. 

By whatever method the original attack is made in 
teaching reading, the teachers of the first two or three 
grades must proceed with large sympathy and with al- 



58 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

most infinite patience and wisdom. Otherwise, the 
child's natural lack of interest in the arbitrary forms of 
the printed page will be increased into an antipathy for 
reading and for the selections read, with the result that 
the very ends which reading seeks to secure will be de- 
feated. 

The importance of the results sought through read- 
ing and the difficulties of learning to read both empha- 
size strongly the need of motivating the children's 
efforts in reading. While adequate motives for reading 
should be manifest throughout the work of every grade, 
it is essential that particular care be exercised to moti- 
vate properly the reading of the first two or three grades 
and especially the beginning lessons in the first grade. 
Miss Arnold 1 has wisely said: — 

To arouse desire and awaken conscious motive is the teach- 
er's most important work, and in teaching reading it should 
receive first consideration. She, therefore, after securing such 
freedom and cooperation as promise a fertile soil for her seed- 
planting, calls the children about her to explain the purpose 
of the lessons which will fill their days. 

Perhaps she reads to them a story which they like, a new 
story which they have never heard. When she reaches the 
interesting climax, she pauses to say, "I have n't time to 
read the rest of the story now. How I wish you could read! 
Then you might take the book and read the story for your- 
selves. Would you not like to learn to read, so that you could 
read stories like these?" . . . 

One teacher suggests writing upon the board some sentence 
which has been whispered to her by the children, and then 
calling an older child from another room to read the secret. 
This is done again and again, until the children are eager to 
share the power which their comrade possesses and turn gladly 
to the tasks required of them, that they may the sooner reach 
their goal. 

1 Sarah Louise Arnold, Learning to Read (New York, 1899), pp. 
17-19. 



THE MOTIVATION OF READING 59 

A good means of motivating the children's first ef- 
forts in reading consists in making it necessary for the 
various members of the class to be able to read the words 
and expressions which tell how to play the games used. 
How such an approach is employed in the first reading 
work is clearly shown in the following J explanation of 
the way the early lessons in reading are developed: — 

A big yellow ball is in sight. The teacher steps to the board 
and writes, speaking the words and sentences as she writes 
tbem the first time. The words below, which are in italics, 
are the ones which are written on the board. The others are 
spoken only. 

"Come to me, Ruth." 

"Come to me, John." 

"Let us have a game of ball." 

"Do you see a big ball, anywhere about?" 

"You may get the ball." 

"After the first time the teacher points to the word ball in- 
stead of speaking it. After she receives the ball, she sings a 
simple little melody : — 

" My ball, I want to catch you, one time, 
Two times, three times, four times, five times, six times." 

She bounds the ball rhythmically to John as she sings. 

At the conclusion of the song the teacher says, if it can be 
said truly, "John played well. Let us do this for him." And 
she writes the word clap upon the board and gives John the 
suggested applause. 

She next writes, Come to me, and calls Lucille to her. She 
and Lucille play as before and at the close of the song she 
points to the word Clap, saying, perhaps, "I think we ought 
to do this," and joins in the applause herself. 

The word ball and the sentences Get the ball, Come to me, and 
Clap, are used again and again during the twenty minutes, 
until each child has had his attention centered upon them 
several times. He soon finds that he needs to remember what 
the strange marks say or else he is at a disadvantage in the 
game. 

As the children pass to their seats they touch "the name of 
1 Briggs and Coffman, Reading in Public Schools (Chicago, 1908). 



60 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

the game we played" as they find it here and there among the 
words on the board. 

Another day the teacher will write the word sing on the 
board as she asks the children to join in the music. She will 
give the words rise and march, when the time arrives for the 
direction of these activities. 

Still later other games may be introduced which call forth 
such sentences as, Form a circle. Choose a partner, Skip, etc. 

As the foregoing illustrations show, a child's reading 
is not definitely motivated unless he is consciously work- 
ing at it to accomplish some specific end which he is 
anxious to attain — for example, learning to read so 
that he can finish the interesting story his teacher began 
to read, or so that he can take part successfully in the 
games played. 

The motives employed must be so varied as to insure 
the children's gradual improvement in all phases of 
reading ability. Four main lines of growth must be kept 
in mind: (1) Ability to recognize immediately the words 
of the printed page. This requires much drill and prac- 
tice. {%) Ability to grasp readily the relationships exist- 
ing between the parts of a sentence and between the 
sentences in a paragraph. (3) Ability to sense the unity 
and the atmosphere of the selections studied. (4) Abil- 
ity to impersonate more or less fully the characters 
appearing in the matter read. Also, to insure improve- 
ment in all phases of oral reading, motives for good oral 
expression should be provided. Children should be 
trained to gather clearly and hold well the thought 
expressed in a printed page and to present it orally, 
with sufficient accuracy and force to convey to the lis- 
tening audience the exact shades of meaning intended. 

Choice and treatment of selections. Often a motive 
for reading, although definite and specific, is sufficiently 
inclusive to motivate highly all phases of interpretation 



THE MOTIVATION OF READING 61 

and of oral expression. Such a motive undoubtedly in- 
spired the efforts of the fourth-grade children in the 
Francis W. Parker School when they were reading and 
studying William Blake's poems preparatory to present- 
ing the results of their work before the school in one 
of the morning assembly exercises. It is evident from 
the report * that these children, under the leadership of 
their teacher, were wonderfully inspired with the op- 
portunity to present an interesting, profitable piece of 
work before the other children and the faculty of the 
school. That they might explain Blake's poems as they 
did, and present them entertainingly, they must inter- 
pret them fully within the limits of their ability, and 
also must be able to read them orally with such force 
and accuracy of physical response as to convey cor- 
rectly their own interpretation. 

The care shown in selecting from Blake's writings 
those poems and parts of poems which the children 
could appreciate and enjoy illustrates well the discrimi- 
nation which teachers should use in their teaching of 
selections from the school reader. Teachers should not 
feel that they must have their classes study and read the 
selections in the order of their occurrence in the reader, 
nor that they should be obliged to use every selection at 
some time. The selections used should be taken when 
each will be of most interest to the class. With certain 
classes, some selections should be entirely omitted be- 
cause they are too difficult for that particular group of 
children, or because the class has.no adequate basis for 
interest in them. 

Fully as important as careful choice of selections is the 
treatment of each selection studied. Since oral reading 

1 Francis W. Parker School Y ear-Book (Chicago, June, 1913), 
pp. 19-27. 



62 THE MOTIVATION, OF SCHOOL WORK 

is the chief means teachers can employ in the first two or 
three grades in testing the reading ability of children, 
most of the material used in these grades should be 
well adapted for oral reading. Interesting narratives, 
spirited dialogue, and selections with dramatic action 
lend themselves to good oral expression. Other material 
of the descriptive and informational type, if used, 
should be so treated that it is clearly understood; but 
it is wasted effort to try to have the children read such 
selections well orally. In the upper grades, of course, 
they should be given the ability to read interestingly 
the descriptive and informational material found in 
geographies and histories. 

Some selections, such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 
contain not only conversation and narrative, but also 
descriptive parts. In such a selection the descriptive 
parts should be talked about and studied until they are 
mastered as fully as the purpose in the study of the 
selection requires. If the selection is read through orally 
before leaving it, it is better usually to maintain its unity 
by telling briefly what is in the descriptive parts, read- 
ing orally only the narrative and conversational sections 
of the selection. 

The teacher must be careful also to use the supple- 
mentary reading material wisely. If the book in use is 
a group of selections, the same discrimination should be 
used as in the case of the basal readers. If, however, it 
is an informational book treating nature-study topics, 
for example, those parts should be used which the chil- 
dren's experiences enable them to understand or which 
will help them in solving their nature-study problems. 
If it is a book such as King Arthur and his Knights, it 
may be used in some schools to supplement the history 
course. In other schools providing no such history 



THE MOTIVATION OF READING 63 

course, it should be so read that the children will enjoy 
and appreciate it. In the latter case, some of it should 
be read orally, especially the narrative, dramatic 
portions in which much dialogue occurs, but the other 
portions should be talked about and treated so as to 
give unity to the story without attempting to read them 
orally. 

Experience shows that in practice teachers may suc- 
cessfully motivate almost all of the children's work in 
reading and literature. Everything the children do in 
learning to read or in the study of worthy selections is 
done for one or more good reasons. If the children are 
conscious of these reasons, they serve definitely to 
motivate the work in hand. In the work of any particu- 
lar group or class of pupils, the motive or motives 
operating will be specific and definite rather than gen- 
eral, but each specific end will probably fall under one 
of the general reasons indicated hereafter for learning 
to read or for reading. 

The use of games. While the foregoing reasons for 
learning to read are particularly effective when children 
are beginning, they are also functional to some extent 
as motives for later reading. For instance, as already 
stated, children cannot take part in certain kinds of 
games unless they can read. Finding that they are thus 
put at a disadvantage, they are anxious to learn to read. 
The teacher's use of this motive has already been dis- 
cussed. The writer recalls a little girl who often evi- 
denced, before she learned to read, how she was at a 
disadvantage in playing certain games with cards bear- 
ing the names of animals with their characteristics, or 
the names of authors with some of their writings, or the 
names of inventors with their leading inventions. Her 
success depended upon remembering what was on the 



64 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

cards. Failing in this, she would lose, and under such 
aircumstances I have heard such remarks as "If I could 
read, you would not have won that book "; "I '11 be glad 
when I learn to read; you won't beat me so often then." 

The primary teacher who, by handing him the card, 
rewards the child who first speaks the word she 
"flashes " before the class on a card, is motivating his 
drill work in reading by treating it as a game in which 
the one wins who holds the most cards at the close of the 
recitation. The successful primary teacher, as a means 
of motivating her work, makes free use of the child's 
desire to take part in games and to win. This is par- 
ticularly important in the drill phases of school work, 
for the complete mastery of which she cannot rely upon 
the child's native interest and joy in repetition. 

The following suggestions are typical of a large 
variety of games which successful teachers use with 
excellent effect in motivating the drill essential in fix- 
ing the reading vocabulary of the beginner ; — 

Mail-carrier — One of the children passes out the words 
which are printed on cardboard, distributing them one at a 
time to the children until all are given out. Each child reads 
the letters (tells the word on each of his cards) he received. 

Santa Claus — Played at the Christmas season just as mail- 
carrier is played. 

Jack Horner Pie — Hide the words the children know in 
the sand-table full of sawdust. The one who digs out the 
most words which he knows wins the most plums and has the 
right to make the next pie by hiding the words again. 

Guessing the word from the initial sound — The teacher or a 
child says, for example, " I am thinking of a word beginning 
with m." The children who think they know tell in turn the 
words they have in mind. The following is typical of what 
occurs : — 

"Is it 'me'?" "No." 

"Is it 'my'?" "No." 

" Is it ' may '? " " Yes, it is ' may/ n 



THE MOTIVATION OF READING 65 

Then another sound is given and similar guessing follows. 
Sometimes Guessing the word pointed to is played very much as 
the game of guessing from the. initial sound is played, the 
difference being that one or all of the children cover their 
eyes while the teacher or a child points to a word. Then the 
guessing begins with resulting conversation similar to that 
just described. 

The express-train reading-trip — The aim is to see how 
quickly the class, participating individually in turn, as each 
new word is pointed to, can review from the chart or black- 
board the entire word list they have mastered. 

Other games of great variety are in general use. Various 
names are employed by teachers to designate a game. So 
familiar to all that they need not be described are such games 
as Pussy wants a corner, action games, post-office, and the 
visiting game. 

■ Other motives. Closely related to the child's desire to 
play games is his wish to be able to read the little notes 
and invitations he receives from his friends. Children 
are also anxious to take part in the reading of the little 
dialogue selections found in their readers; but they 
realize that only those who read well can engage in this 
exercise to advantage. Dramatization supplies a simi- 
lar motive for reading well. Those who read well are 
usually best equipped to take the parts in the drama- 
tization of the lesson. The skillful teacher motivates 
further the efforts of her children in learning to read by 
allowing those who have tried hard and who have suc- 
ceeded reasonably well the distinction of reading the 
entire story to the class, to a higher grade, or to the 
assembly in which the entire school and others, per- 
haps, are gathered. 

The desire to be able to finish reading an interesting 
story started by some one who can read is a strong 
motive to the child who is just learning to read. Every 
parent has observed with what intense interest a little 



66 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

child approaching the school age watches an older 
brother or sister who is just learning to read. The 
younger child follows the older one in an attitude of 
admiration amounting almost to awe, saying plainly, 
"I '11 be glad when I can read and can find the stories 
in books all alone." The same motive, somewhat ex- 
tended, actuates the child in his reading after the stage 
of beginning reading is passed, causing him to read 
stories and entire books which he has reason to believe 
will be interesting to him. 

One of the strongest motives for reading arises from 
the need children find of being able to read in order to 
accomplish certain practical ends in which they become 
interested. A child may wish to compete in a garden 
contest which the schools have instituted or in a city- 
beautifying contest which some civic-welfare organiza- 
tion has launched. In pursuit of such an end, he needs 
to read that he may gain information as to what to plant 
and how to plant it. 

Many practical needs for reading ability are con- 
stantly arising in the experiences of children. A kite is 
wanted. Catalogues must be consulted in making an 
order, or an explanation of how to make a kite must be 
found and read intelligently. If a complicated toy, such 
as an engine or a piece of electrical apparatus, is received 
at Christmas, the directions for assembling and operat- 
ing it present a very practical need for reading ability. 
The writer remembers well that one small boy's first need 
to consult the encyclopaedia and a text on physics grew 
out of his need to know how to connect up some bat- 
teries to an electric engine. A little girl finds herself just 
as anxious to read, that she may interpret her mother's 
cook-book, especially if she is granted permission to 
bake something as a surprise to the other members of 



THE MOTIVATION OF READING 67 

the family. Professor Charles H. Judd has an entire 
lecture devoted to setting forth the need and value of 
such interesting, practical reading as may be found in 
catalogues from manufacturers, publishers, and mail- 
order houses, in the advertising pages of standard mag- 
azines, and in such magazines for boys as Popular Me- 
chanics and the Scientific American, and for girls as 
Good Housekeeping and the Ladies' Home Journal. 
Practice in accord with the views he presents demon- 
strates satisfactorily the appeal such reading-matter 
makes, especially to children of the intermediate grades. 
Since such reading may be done in any school without 
cost to any one, every school should make definite pro- 
vision for it. 

The strongest motive for reading probably arises out 
of the social value of reading. The ability to read enables 
the child to share the results of his reading with his 
associates, bringing to them, for their profit and delight, 
what he has gleaned from his reading. Because of the 
stimulus that sharing their reading brings to children, 
the school program should make definite provision for 
enabling the children to exchange the results of their 
reading. 

A large variety of reading may be secured by the 
school from the children's pleasure and delight in thus 
sharing their reading experiences. It is this motive 
which causes different children to volunteer to read the 
same sections of a story. Each wishes his hearers to en- 
joy some emotion or picture or rhythm which he has 
enjoyed and which he feels he can cause others to enjoy 
through his reading. In working upon a topic in history 
or local civics or school gardening, it is his desire to con- 
tribute his mite in enabling all to get a well-rounded 
view of the topic which inspires each child to search and 



68 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

study for something to report at the next meeting of the 
class. Every teacher who has tested it knows the stimu- 
lating effect upon the children's reading of an opportu- 
nity to read a good story which they have enjoyed for the 
entertainment of another grade, a meeting of parents, or 
a general audience. The same motive leads children to 
search for new riddles or jokes or stories in their home 
reading. They are delighted to find something new and 
interesting which they may share with their classmates. 
The following reports from two teachers who allowed 
their children to share their home-reading experiences 
are fairly typical. A second-grade teacher says: — 

To induce the children to bring in outside reading, they were 
given the privilege of conducting one opening morning exer- 
cise per week. Their aim was to entertain their classmates 
and any friends who might be present. Two leaders, chosen 
by the school, one week in advance, arranged the program. 
These leaders selected the best reading-material brought in 
by the children and also the boy or girl best fitted to appear 
before the school. These results seemed evident: (1) A con- 
tinued search for stories at home, enlisting the aid of parents 
and neighbors ; (£) a keen desire to read well enough to have a 
place on the program; (3) an appreciative audience; (4) whole- 
some rivalry and criticism on the part of the class; (5) a 
greater interest in story-telling developed, as some of the 
stories were read at home and reproduced. 

A third-grade teacher reports the following selections 
brought by the children to read to the class from their 
out-of -school reading: — 

Name of Book Selection 

Baldwin's Third Reader The Apple 

Baldwin's Third Reader Boys 

Baldwin's Second Reader The Pet Squirrel 

Chatterbox The Story Bob's Father Told 

Happy Home The Dog Who Had No Home 

Baby's Garden of Story and Rhyme .... My Jumbo 
Great Big Story Book The First Party 



THE MOTIVATION OF READING 69 

Old Mother Hubbard Old Mother Hubbard 

For Dolly and Me The Music Lesson 

Who Killed Cock Robin 

The Marriage of Cock Robin 

Easy Steps : The Creation 

Fun in the Country Tib 

At the Circus The Lions 

Cinderella Story Book Grandma's Doll 

Proud and Lazy Dolly and I 

Graded Literature First Reader. First Sight of Snow 
Graded Literature Second Reader 

The Ant and the Grasshopper 

Black Beauty Chapter IV 

Black Beauty Chapter V 

Black Beauty Chapter VI 

Robinson Crusoe Robinson Saved 

iEsop's Fables The Frogs Asking for a King 

Little Prudy Chapter II 

Jack and the Beanstalk Jack and the Fairy 

Jack and the Beanstalk At the Giant's House 

The Foolish Fox The Tub Where Rain Is Kept 

Stories of Pioneer Life (Bass) The New Home 

True Stories of Olden Days Queen Boadicea 

Little Chrysanthemum . . .In the Flowery Kingdom 
Night Before Christmas and Other Stories 

Willie's Generosity 
Adventures of a Brownie and Other Stories 

Little Snowdrop 

Puss in Boots and Other Stories Puss in Boots 

Stories to Read or Tell (Foucher) The Stone Cutter 

Little Folks' Magazine Betty's Adventure 

Decatur Review (Sunday) . . Story of a Maltese Cat 
Advertisement of Youth's Companion 

Jack and Betty 

Another valuable means of stimulating the children to 
an interest in bringing to the school valuable material 
from their outside reading is that of asking them to 
bring what they can find upon a topic in which all are 
interested. A third grade whose efforts one of the writers 
observed became greatly interested in their language 



70 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

work in reading and talking about spring — the changes 
it brings, why we enjoy it, and so on. At the conclusion 
of a very interesting lesson, the teacher asked each child 
to bring to the reading-class the next day any poem or 
story of interest on spring. The reading-class the next 
day was overflowing with enthusiasm. Every child was 
not only eager to present his own contribution well, but 
he was alert to hear what each of his mates contributed. 
Interesting topics in nature-study, geography, and his- 
tory afford a similar opportunity for a valuable reading- 
hour. 

A motive for reading which is always effective with 
certain types of children and which rises into increasing 
prominence as the children mature and advance in 
ability, is that of reading merely to extend acquaintance 
with literature and for the sake of mastering the best 
that has been recorded by the world's greatest thinkers 
and writers. With the dawning of adolescence, this 
motive leads many children to read extensively from a 
large number of authors. One of the most important ob- 
jects of the reading and literature work in the public 
schools is the establishment of this motive as dominant 
in the lives of children. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 

Establishing the motive. The teacher's effort in lan- 
guage and composition work should be to preserve the 
spontaneous, free self-expression, characteristic of most 
children upon entering school, and to secure in them 
steady growth in the mastery of style and form, so that 
both their oral and written expression may be effective. 
When playing, children talk naturally and freely about 
their experiences. They express themselves forcibly and 
with delightful spontaneity, although with many crudi- 
ties. The school should seek to encourage and develop 
this oral self-expression. Written expression should be 
introduced gradually from grade to grade. As the chil- 
dren acquire the ability, it should increase in promi- 
nence. If the school can bring the children's speech and 
writing up to accepted standards without crushing 
spontaneity and freedom in expression, the ends sought 
through language teaching will be accomplished. 

Two very different methods of attaining these results 
are employed by teachers of language. The more com- 
mon method is to assign the language lessons from the 
book in use, telling the pupils to do what the book 
directs. A large majority of the teachers who depend 
upon the book do not even vary the order of the lessons 
in the text. They teach the book with a sort of blind 
hope that power to speak and write good English will 
result. 

The other method, which every good teacher is using 



72 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

more and more, treats the language book, not as a task- 
master, but as a source of help and information. Such a 
teacher notices the speech and writing of her class from 
day to day, and their evident needs determine the topics 
she teaches. The order in which those needs appear 
determines the order in which she takes up the lessons 
of the text, and the ability of her class gauges the use 
she makes of each lesson. Such a method of work keeps 
in view the language ability which it seems reasonable 
to expect of the class, and then looks about for things 
that need to be done. 

Teachers are seeing that if the free, spontaneous ex- 
pression found in the out-of-school speech of children is 
to be preserved in the school, the composition work must 
concern itself with experiences and needs which are as 
real as those which children talk or write about in their 
simple play, social, and business experiences outside of 
school. At home and in play, the child asks for things 
he really wants. He applies for a job he is anxious to 
secure. He states his reasons for asking a favor of his 
playmates or his parents. He writes to a business firm 
ordering something he needs. He exchanges notes or 
letters with his friends and replies to invitations he re- 
ceives from them. His talking and writing in all of these 
typical situations are merely a means of getting what he 
wants. In no case does the average child talk or write 
merely as an exercise for the improvement of his 
ability in self-expression, although exceptional children 
may sometimes do so. This improvement comes, how- 
ever, as a result of continued practice when under the 
necessity of getting something that he wants. 

The teacher's first large problem in helping her pupils 
to talk and write better is finding by talking with her 
classes thkigs they really need to talk and write about. 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 73 

These exist on every hand, of course. The teacher 
merely needs to see that they are the best topics she can 
possibly choose. When the pupil talks or writes in school 
to accomplish something he really wants to do, the com- 
position exercise becomes a vital experience to him. He 
wants to do it and every detail in the process becomes 
definitely motivated for him. 

The experience of successful teachers of composition 
shows that under perfectly natural, normal conditions 
there are in every school many needs for talking and 
writing. Things the pupils keenly desire to do are (1) to 
acquire something of value; (2) to communicate with 
others; (3) to share with and entertain others; (4) to 
preserve something in written form; (5) to improve in 
ability to use pleasing, forceful English. All of these 
objects furnish real needs for talking and writing. 

Of course, the stimulus or motive for talking or writ- 
ing is always a feeling of need, a desire to accomplish a 
definite thing, as will appear in the following discussion; 
it is never a general, undefined feeling directed toward a 
vague, general end. The purpose of the remainder of 
this chapter is to set forth concretely how the language 
and composition work in the course of study of the 
school is definitely motivated for the children. 

The desire to acquire property. The desire to own 
property — money, a prize, or anything possessing com- 
mercial value — shows itself early in the life of the child, 
as was pointed out in chapter IV. For a little money, 
children are fairly faithful in milking, gathering eggs, 
washing dishes, marketing milk, tending furnace, clean- 
ing snow from the walks, and so on. 

This natural desire to acquire things of value may be 
used in various ways by teachers as a basis for language 
and other school work. The publishers of standard, 



74 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

popular magazines constantly appeal to this desire for 
commercial gain by offering money prizes for the best 
articles on announced topics. In school work students 
may be stimulated to compete against each other for a 
prize. This was the nature of the contest when the 
high-school English classes in a certain city competed 
for the prizes awarded by a daily newspaper for the best 
original stories. This contest has been participated in 
annually by the students of this high school since 1896. 
The number of participants annually varied from thirty 
in 1902 to one hundred and sixteen in 1910, averaging 
sixty per year. The children who wrote the papers re- 
ferred to below, on the attraction and protection of our 
song birds and birds of plumage, were competing for 
the prizes which were to be awarded. This desire for 
personal gain is in no sense an objectionable type of 
emulation, especially if emphasis is placed upon win- 
ning the prize rather than upon beating the other con- 
testants. 

A much better type of stimulation is found, however, 
when the children of a class or school cooperate to make 
money, as when a graduating class decides to write a 
dramatization and to put it on as a public performance 
to make some money to purchase a class memorial for 
the school. Similarly, a good problem is for the English 
classes to develop a play from some of their English 
work, that it may be staged as a benefit performance for 
such objects as purchasing a piano or replenishing the 
depleted treasury of the athletic association. 

Reference to three sets of papers written under the 
stimulus of the commercial motive seems desirable by 
Way of illustration. 

A public-spirited citizen, who had a beautiful home at 
the edge of a small city, and who missed greatly the song 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 75 

birds and the birds of plumage from his shrubbery, felt 
that the children might do much to promote the return 
of the birds to his city, if they but understood their 
value from an aesthetic and commercial standpoint. He 
therefore offered to award ten dollars in prizes to be 
distributed by the school to those pupils who wrote the 
best papers upon "Ways of Attracting and Protecting 
our Song Birds and Birds of Plumage." It was decided 
to distribute the benefit to as many pupils as possible; 
hence, one first prize was offered, one second, four third, 
and two fourth. Thus, eight children received something 
in return for their efforts. This work was managed in 
such a way that the children of the elementary schools 
throughout the city were working upon the problem for 
some weeks before the writing was done. The aim of the 
citizen in offering the prizes seemed actually to become 
the purpose of the children, as was seen from the 
good attitude they took toward the birds. The com- 
positions not only represented an abundance of knowl- 
edge and experience on the part of the children; but 
they were, likewise, a true representation of the serious 
plans of the children for attracting the birds to the 
community. 

It is interesting to note that the prizes were dis- 
tributed to representatives of all the grades above the 
third. Two went to fourth-grade pupils, one to a fifth- 
grade pupil, three to sixth-grade pupils, one to a seventh- 
grade pupil, and one to an eighth-grade pupil. Fifteen 
pupils received honorable mention, the honors being 
distributed in the grades above the third, just about 
as the prizes were distributed. In all, something like 
seventy meritorious papers were filed. 

In awarding the prizes, the points considered and the 
importance assigned them were determined in the light 



76 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

of the purpose of the donor, and were as follows, in 
the order named : — 

(1) What the pupil had observed about birds and had 
done to attract birds. 

(2) Information gained from others and from books 
as to bird habits, bird values, means of attracting 
and protecting birds. 

(3) Pupil's attitude toward attracting and protecting 
birds. 

(4) Literary quality. 

(5) Formal points, such as neatness of papers, spell- 
ing, punctuation, and so on. 

It is unnecessary, of course, to print any prize paper 
in full. Quotations * have been chosen from two types 
of papers, one of which is academic throughout, showing 
well-organized information as to how birds may be 
attracted and protected and in reference to the value of 
birds. It is written by a sixth-grade pupil. The intro- 
ductory paragraphs are as follows : — 

Birds are among our most useful animals. Without them 
the world would lose much of its beauty. Their beautiful 
plumage cheers everyone around them, as their sweet song 
delights them. Some birds are useful as scavengers and clean 
the filth and dirt from the streets, but the greatest uses of 
birds, are the harmful insects that are destroyed by them. The 
insects, that would ruin one billion and a half dollars worth of 
fruit, vegetables and forest trees a year are destroyed by the 
birds. If for no other reasons these would be proof enough 
that birds are of great value to man. 

Some birds are easily tamed, but others need to be taught 
confidence in a person before they will venture near. If we 
wish to have the birds near our home we must attract and 
protect them in various ways; a good one being, to provide a 
bird " lunch counter." By this I mean we should put a board 
or box near the house, on which a piece of suet is nailed, so 

1 The actual language and punctuation employed by the children is 
preserved in all work quoted in this chapter. 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 77 

that the birds may pick at it but not carry it away. Also food 
of different kinds may be placed here; garden worms, seeds 
and bits of bread. 

The paper then shows in two paragraphs what should 
be done to attract the oriole and the hummingbird. It 
then shows how the coming of the white man has re- 
sulted in the disappearance of the birds. The closing 
paragraph is as follows : — 

To have birds around our homes we must protect them and 
try to win back their confidence. We should allow no one to 
climb the trees in which there are birds' nests, nor rob them, 
nor should we let anyone shoot at them with a gun or sling- 
shot. If a young bird falls from its nest we may be able to 
coax it to us and put it back or in some safe place, where a 
dog or cat could not devour it. We may take it into the house 
and feed and care for it till it is able to care for itself. Some 
men, even some farmers, to whom they do so much good, 
think birds are of no use, but they are of great benefit, for, as 
James Russell Lowell said, " Nature fits all her children with 
something to do." 

The second paper quoted from is very different in 
style; but the writer is no less serious and forceful in 
her purpose. It runs as follows : — 

What 's that? Who says the birds are of no use to us? The 
birds are among our best friends. There would be a great 
famine if there were no birds. They protect our fruit trees, 
grain, shade trees and vegetables by destroying injurious in- 
sects. Not only that, but some of them kill mice and other 
harmful creatures. 

Did you ever have the experience of talking to a songster? 
If not, get up some morning very early. Beat the sun to the 
woods and enjoy the daily concerts the birds give. It will 
acquaint you with some friends who will not forget you if you 
are kind to them. Sit under the trees and scatter crumbs of 
bread and cake about you and you will be surprised to see how 
quickly they will make friends with you. Practice this every 
morning and you will learn to love them as well as they do 
you and you will not kill one unless it is an accident. I am 



78 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

always delighted after a long dull winter to hear the sweet 
" to-wheet, to-wheet! " of the bluebird, telling me that spring 
is here again. 

Another illustration of pupils writing for money is 
given below. The circumstances, however, are some- 
what different as the pupils in this instance are en- 
deavoring to produce a salable article. 

A certain fifth-grade class that wished to raise a 
small fund decided to make a history booklet, for which 
they rewrote some of the history stories they had en- 
joyed in a set of supplementary reading-books. These 
booklets were carefully prepared, illustrated, and bound 
in a neat cover. They readily sold for twenty-five cents 
each. The following quotations illustrate the quality of 
writing which the children did in preparing the sketches 
for their booklets : — 

The Boston Massacre 

Because they came from England, the colonists called her 
the " Mother Country." They showed their love for her by 
fighting for her against the French. England sent soldiers to 
protect the colonists against the French and Indians to prove 
her love for them. 

By and by the Mother Country forgot this kindly feeling. 
She took their rights away from the Colonies. This was more 
than they could endure. They wrote to King George, telling 
him they did not like this treatment. He replied, " I will tax 
you in all things whatsoever." 

The British regiments which arrived in Boston to enforce 
the unjust laws were unwelcome guests. Trouble soon fol- 
lowed and on March 3rd, 1770, five Boston Boys lost their 
lives in the Boston Massacre. This helped to bring on the 
War of the Revolution. 

The Battle of Bunker Hill 

This important battle was fought July 2, 1775, near Boston. 
The Americans heard that the British intended to build a fort 
on this hill, so they determined to get ahead of them. One 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 79 

night William Prescott with twelve hundred men crept noise- 
lessly to the top and threw up earthworks. 

The battle which followed next day was a victory for the 
British but it was dearly won. Prescott knew that his men 
had very little ammunition and no bayonets on their guns. 
He ordered them to aim low and not to fire until they could 
see the whites of their enemies' eyes. 

When the Americans retreated, Prescott was the last man 
to leave the fort. The brave Gen. Warren fell on the very 
spot where the monument now stands. This battle did much 
to encourage the Americans for they knew they had brave 
soldiers and were able to win from even British Regulars. 

To raise funds with which to make up a deficit in the 
treasury of the athletic association, the pupils in the 
English classes, who were studying Irving's Legend of 
Sleepy Hollow, decided that they would write a little 
comedy in four acts, entitled Brom vs. Ichabod. In re- 
porting the undertaking, the teacher in charge of the 
work says : — 

There were fifty-odd pupils in the two sections and each, 
except two, wrote independently a play consisting of four 
scenes. This last was, in the teacher's estimation, the most 
valuable part of the work. About three weeks were occupied 
in bringing the play to this stage of its completion and this 
ended the class work upon it. 

The pupils had done a really remarkable amount of think- 
ing, planning, and writing and all apparently with great en- 
joyment. The result was a mass of somewhat doubtful drama- 
tic material — about fifty four-scene playlets. This was now 
sifted by committees of five, each committee taking charge 
of one scene and reading and selecting, rereading and re-select- 
ing, until four or five of the best of each scene remained. 

Four scenes were finally judged the best and their respec- 
tive authors then re-wrote, using any material from other 
papers which had been thought good and fitting the various 
scenes into a sort of whole. A few — very few — suggestions 
were made by the teacher, but the play, as it stood finished, 
was the work of fifty girls and boys, set and polished by four. 

A comedy of this sort, of course, gives little opportunity 






80 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

for beauty of phrasing or niceties of diction. Perhaps for that 
very reason it appealed greatly to the boys, who entered with 
much vim into its action and humorous portrayal. The Dutch 
caps and frocks appealed to the girls. And there was, withal, 
a pleasing spirit of cooperation, of willingness to be subordi- 
nate if it was for the good of the " play," that was of more 
value than many plays. 

That all gained an increased appreciation of, and insight 
into, dramatic structure from their efforts at play-making was 
apparent when a real drama was read later. The classes that 
had made a play could better see the scenes they read. They 
demanded to know how Portia and Shylock should be dressed 
and discussed the stage settings and " properties." They even 
dared to see the inconsistencies in a Shakespearean plot and 
difficulties in the time scheme. But yet they were not over- 
critical, for did they not know, from experience, how hard it 
was to make everything " fit" in a play? 

Many opportunities for doing composition work under 
the influence of the commercial motive may be found 
in any school. Wisely used, not only will good language 
results be secured, but other, desirable results for the 
children, the school, and the community will be gained. 

Using the need for communication. Most of the com- 
posing — both oral and written — which mature people 
do in the routine of business affairs and social life grows 
out of the need for communicating. Jobs must be secured, 
so men interview employers or write letters of applica- 
tion. Merchandise must be sold; hence salesmen present 
their wares both in personal interviews and by letters. 
Information and advice must be had as a basis for wise 
investments; therefore clients present their questions to 
attorneys and other experts, and they in turn render 
their oral or written opinions. One's friends are con- 
stantly extending social courtesies, and they are both 
acknowledged and returned. 

These communications growing out of business and 
social situations are essential to the success of those con- 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 81 

cerned. They spring out of their real needs. They aid the 
solution of actual problems. They achieve purposes in 
the lives of those interested. They are not indulged in as 
pastime, nor do they result from an assignment on the 
part of a superior officer calling for a letter to an imagi- 
nary person or for a composition on some subject which, 
however interesting, is of no vital concern to the writer 
and of no consequence in solving a real life-problem. 

Plenty of real needs for communicating by the stu- 
dents arise in connection with school enterprises and in 
the management of student affairs. In meeting these 
situations, information must be sought, demanding oral 
or written composing. Successful undertakings should 
be reported to others whom they may interest; hence 
oral or written compositions are needed. 

The teacher who is alert to this source of composition 
material finds more real needs to be met than she can 
use in the language work. It is only the teacher who 
interprets student needs in terms of the pages of a text 
who fails to use these real life-situations as a means of im- 
proving the speaking and writing ability of her students. 

The results developed in meeting and solving actual 
problems which arise in the regular routine of school 
work may easily be illustrated extensively. The follow- 
ing are typical of the communications which children 
find need to write : — 

First, letters written in seeking help or information. 
This was sent to a second-grade teacher by the children 
of a sixth grade who had met a need they could not 
satisfy otherwise : — 

Dear Miss B: — 

We would like you to come up and tell us about " Starved 
Rock " from 1.30 to 1.45 this afternoon. 

Very truly yours. 



82 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

These notes were written to the superintendent of 
schools by the third-grade children in one school: — 

Dear Sir: — 

Won't you come and grade our school ground? Because 
when it rains the school ground fills with water and there is 
just lots of days that we don't have any outdoor recess and 
we would be very much pleased if you would grade it or do 
something to it. I think it would be nice if you would ask the 
Board of Education to help our school ground. Well, I will 
close. 

Yours very respectfully. 

Dear Sir: — 

Will you please ask the members of the Board of Educa- 
tion if they will get us a cabinet so that we can keep a store 
and have some paper money. That will help us to learn our 
table of 3's. 

Respectfully. 

Dear Sir: — 

The third grade would be greatly pleased if we could have a 
table for our room. It would be so nice to have one for our 
manual training work and for books we sometimes need to use. 
The boys and girls who have good lessons can do some special 
work at this table. 

Your little friend. 

The children of a sixth grade sent the following letter 
to the city comptroller: — 

Dear Sir: — 

We wish to take up some original problems that deal with 
the city's expenditures. We have found that there are some 
things which we shall have to have some information about 
and we thought you would be glad to help us. We have the 
appropriations for 1910 and the monthly report for Septem- 
ber and have been greatly interested in talking about them 
but there are some things we do not quite understand. 

[The letter then speaks of the city debt, inquiring how it is 
met, the ability to borrow, the interest paid, and so on, and 
inquires what a department does if it needs more money 
than has been appropriated for its work. It also inquires as 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 83 

to the salaries of the police and as to the status of the funds 
set aside for sidewalks, crossings, streets, and alleys.] 

We wish you would come out and talk to us, but if it is 
more convenient for you to write than to come, please do that. 
Very truly yours. 

The general motive underlying these letters overlaps 
somewhat the motive of sharing. This will be seen by a 
comparison of the above results with those shown on 
pages 88-91. The concrete situations out of which this 
language work grew are but typical of scores of situa- 
tions which must be met in every school. 

While the need to communicate will usually result in 
a letter on the part of children, compositions designed 
to give information will often assume the more formal 
aspect of a theme. The same thing will often be true of 
a composition written to delight or please. Written 
compositions for the purpose of extending thanks, re- 
sponding to a courtesy, or offering a courtesy usually 
will take the form of a letter. 

Second, letters of thanks and responses to courtesies 
extended which the children found it desirable to w T rite. 
Some of these, it will be observed, are in response to 
what resulted from the requests contained in the letters 
as printed above. 

The following note was sent to the teacher who talked 
to the class about "Starved Rock": — 

Dear Miss B: — 

We wish to express our appreciation for the helpful instruc- 
tion you gave us Friday in the talk on " Starved Rock." We 
also appreciate the fact that you took the time from your own 
pupils and gave it to us. 

Your friend. 

This note was sent to the member of the Board of 
Education who had charge of improving the school 



84 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

ground, about which the children sent the superinten- 
dent a note : — 

My dear Mrs. H. : — 

How glad we are that you sent the gravel to scatter over our 
playground. It was very kind of you. On rainy days we could 
not use the giant strides, or swings, or play any games because 
it was so muddy. Now since we have the gravel we can play 
even after a rain. We would be glad to have you visit our 
school again. 

Yours truly. 

This note was written to the superintendent after the 
cabinet requested was supplied : — 

Dear Sir: — 

We thank you very, very much for asking the Board of 
Education for the cabinet you sent out to us Tuesday evening. 
We did not expect it so soon. We are all proud of it. We are 
sure it will be quite a help to us. Will you thank your Board 
for us, please. 

Yours very truly. 

This note was sent to the superintendent after the 
table asked for was supplied: — 

Dear Sir: — 

We cannot thank you enough for that table. It is the most 
useful thing we have. The next manual training day I do 
not think we will be at all crowded. 

Thanking you very much for sending the table, I remain, 
Your friend. 

This note was sent to the Board of Education after 
the planting of a privet hedge: — 

Dear Sirs: — 

I think you have accommodated us greatly by having this 
beautiful privet hedge put around our school grounds. It 
greatly improves the looks of the yard. 

Very truly yours. 

The following note was sent to the high-school orches- 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 85 

tra and glee clubs by the seventh-grade children of a 
school, this grade writing for the entire school: — 

Dear Friends: — 

We, the seventh grade of our school, are very grateful to 
you for helping us spend such a pleasant hour last Friday 
afternoon. 

It was indeed very thoughtful and kind of you. Your fine 
playing and singing proved how carefully and faithfully Miss 
Hall has taught you. 

When we get to high school we will endeavor to climb as 
high as you have in music. 

Yours sincerely. 

After the city comptroller had responded to the 
request printed above, the following note was sent : — 

Dear Sir: — 

We thank you very much for taking the time yesterday to 
come out and talk to us. Since it is almost time for your Oc- 
tober report we know you are very busy. We gained a great 
deal of valuable information from your talk and expect to 
start on our original problems soon. 

Yours truly. 

One of the schools in a city system organized a plan 
of self-government and sent the superintendent of 
schools a letter setting forth carefully the plan of organ- 
ization and their ideals concerning it. He considered 
it such a good piece of work that he sent it to the state 
superintendent of public instruction, who was so pleased 
with it that he printed it in the monthly Educational 
Press Bulletin. After the children learned that he had 
printed it, they formulated this letter and sent it to 
him: — 

Dear Sir: — 

We wish to thank you for thinking so much of our organ- 
ization letter as to publish it. We all think it was very nice of 
you. 

We received it this morning just as the captains were giving 



86 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

their weekly reports. You may be sure it came in pretty 
bandy. 

We will thank you very much if you will send us a few of 
the Educational Press Bulletins, as some of the children would 
like to have one to remember Helena by. Helena is the child 
who wrote the letter which you printed. 

Very truly yours. 

Third, letters extending courtesy. 
The following note was sent to all of the supervisors of 
the schools : — 

We most cordially invite you to be present at Pugh school 
at three o'clock, Wednesday, December 21st. The boys will 
exhibit their manual training work and the girls will exhibit 
their Christmas sewing. 

Yours truly. 

Here is another note regarding the same sort of thing 
which was sent to the superintendent from another 
school : — 

Dear Sir: — 

We are going to have a small exhibit next Wednesday at 
three o'clock. The boys of the sixth and seventh grades will 
show some of their manual training work. The girls will show 
their domestic art work which they have been making for 
Christmas. 

We would like it very much if you would come and see 
these things. Miss Murphy, the sewing teacher, will be here 
and we expect some of the other supervisors. I am sure you 
will be interested in these things, especially the things the 
boys have made, as you were once a boy, too. 

Hoping to see you, I am 

Most sincerely. 

The following is an invitation sent to all their parents 
by the children of a sixth grade : — 

You are cordially invited by the sixth grade of our school, 
to be present at the Thanksgiving exercises, November 23rd, 
1910, 2 p.m., room 7. 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 87 

The children of one of the schools wrote a note similar 
to this one to each mother sending children to school : — 

Dear Mother: — 

You are cordially invited to come at 2 o'clock, Friday after- 
noon, to Room 12. We are going to play the story of the 
Miller, His Son and the Donkey. 

At three o'clock there is to be a business meeting in Miss 
Hamilton's room. 

Your son, 

John. 

The children of a fourth grade sent this note to the 
members of the Board of Education : — 

Dear Friends: — 

The children of the fourth grade wish to thank you very 
much for giving us Monday, after New Year's, for vacation. 
I am sure we shall enjoy it very much. We wish each of you a 
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Very truly yours. 

The following note was sent to the superintendent : — 

Dear Sir: — 

You saw our second day's work on The Lion and the Mouse. 
We are sending you the copy of the play. As we wrote it suit- 
able for the third grade we invited them to play it for us. We 
enclose our letter to them and their reply. We hope you may 
be present when the play is given. 

Yours sincerely. 

Fourth, letters written to please or delight some one. 
This note was sent with some flowers to a woman who 
was ill : — 

We send these flowers to make you happy. We hope you 
will enjoy them. We picked them in our school yard. 

Yours truly. 

This note, together with some roses, was sent to an 
elderly man in the community whom the children had 
come to know through one or two visits he had made to 
the school to speak to them : — 



88 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Dear Friend: — 

We wish to congratulate you upon reaching your eighty 
seventh milestone and send these gifts of nature to show our 
love for you. We wish you many more happy birthdays. 
Your friends. 

The superintendent received this note just a day or 
two before the schools closed for Christmas : — 

The teacher and pupils wish you a Merry Christmas and a 
Happy New Year. We are very grateful to you for your kind- 
ness during the year. We have worked hard and tried not to 
be troublesome this semester. Our New Year's Resolution is 
" Strive to do better than last year." 

Yours sincerely. 

Using the instinct of sharing. In the practical work 
of the school the teacher finds that the children share, 
help, and entertain — first, one another; second, the chil- 
dren of another grade; third, the teachers and children 
of the entire school; fourth, a mature audience made up 
of parents and others who may be interested. 

This source of language material is ever present. 
Indeed, the necessity of writing from this standpoint 
forces itself upon both teacher and children if the school 
is conducted at all as a social organization and with a 
consciousness of the natural social relationships. Of 
course, in the school where language work merely means 
so many pages per term in a textbook, the language 
problems arising in the social relationships of the school 
would wholly escape the attention of the teacher. The 
following section indicates how the opportunities for 
such writing arise and quotes brief extracts showing 
the concrete results obtained. 

It is natural for children to share with and to aid 
and entertain one another. When they return to school 
after the summer vacation, they bring a variety of ex- 
periences which are of intense interest to one another. 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 89 

What is more natural than that they should wish to 
tell of these experiences either in oral or in written 
compositions? 

Again, after they have enjoyed the festivities of the 
Christmas vacation, what is more natural than that they 
should wish to share their varying experiences with their 
friends and playmates in school? Again, during the 
course of the year, new pupils come into the school from 
other schools or even from other cities. What is more 
natural than that the children should wish to profit by 
the new point of view and by the different experiences 
which these children bring? These situations are typical 
of the almost endless number of occasions which arise in 
every school and which should constitute a natural basis 
for the most enthusiastic type of composing which can 
take place in the school. 

In the second place, the children's interests are not 
confined to their associates in their own grade. They 
naturally wish to share certain of their experiences with 
the children of other grades. 

At the opening of the school year, the sixth-grade 
children in a certain school wrote some very interesting 
compositions growing out of their vacation experiences, 
each child taking the event which had given him the 
greatest pleasure during the vacation. After these ex- 
periences had been shared with the rest of the class, 
the plan was conceived of rewriting them in language 
adapted to the second grade. Accordingly this was done, 
and a booklet made of the combined compositions was 
presented to the younger children for reading. The en- 
tire booklet was most interesting, such topics as these 
being covered — " Our Ball Game," " Visiting in the 
Country," " Nursing the Piggie," " Going Fishing in the 
Country," "Out Camping," "The Balloons." The fol- 



90 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

lowing quotations are typical of the stories sent to the 
second-grade children: — 

Our Ball Game 

I was out in the country this summer. We had a ball game. 
I played right field, and caught two flies and missed two. My 
cousin was captain and pitcher, and his brother caught. My 
brother played center field. I made one home run, two three 
base hits, and two two-base hits. In all the game, I made four 
runs. Some of the men on the other side were married. None 
of the boys on our side were over sixteen years old. We won 
the game with a score of twenty-two to eighteen. We were 
very glad we had won. 

Visiting in the Country 

One warm day in summer I went to visit my aunt in the 
country. The first day I was there, my cousin and I went all 
over the farm. 

We first went to see the stock, and 0! what do you think 
we saw? We saw cows, and pigs, and the dearest little woolly 
sheep! . . . 

The Balloons 

I went to my Sunday School Picnic. They sent up two 
balloons. One got caught in a tree and the balloon burned up. 
The other sailed south of the park away over the hills as far 
as my eyes could see. When I got home I was tired and 
happy. 

One of the most extensive pieces of work the pupils of 
a grade may undertake with the pupils of another grade 
in mind is a dramatization. The pupils of a sixth grade 
dramatized The Lion and the Mouse, adapting it for 
presentation by those of a third grade. It is impossible 
to reproduce this dramatization, of course, but the basis 
afforded for composition work was very definite and the 
results secured were most gratifying. In arranging for 
the dramatization, it was necessary for the children of 
the sixth grade who wrote it to address those in the third 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 91 

grade who were to play it. After the dramatization had 
been presented, the sixth-grade children wrote a letter 
of appreciation and the third-grade pupils wrote a let- 
ter in response. Out of this wish to help one another, 
therefore, grew an extended amount of interesting 
writing. 

Following the visit of a sixth-grade class to a sorghum 
mill situated near the city, the children felt that they 
had had an experience which would be valuable to other 
children. Therefore they wrote up their experience with 
the idea of sending their account to the other fifth and 
sixth grades in the city. The following is a typical ac- 
count of their visit to the sorghum mill : — 

The growing cane is much like corn, but is a darker green. 
It is cut like corn also. After it is cut. it is stripped of its 
leaves and then put between two iron rollers which are turned 
by a traction engine. Under these rollers is a small, bucket- 
shaped trough, from which runs a pipe. The sap drops into 
this trough when pressed from the cane, then passes through 
the pipe into a tank. The crushed cane is thrown, by a mov- 
ing belt, into a pile like a straw stack. The sap, when first 
pressed from the cane, is a vile looking green color. From this 
tank is another pipe going to the boiling vats. At the end of 
this pipe is a hydrant so they can shut it off when enough sap 
is in the vats. These are arranged so that the sap passes from 
one to another and is boiled thoroughly for two hours. 

Using the motive of entertaining. Not only may the 
children of a grade share their experiences with one an- 
other and with the children of another grade, but all of 
the children of the school may cooperate in the develop- 
ment of exercises interesting and profitable to the entire 
school. These programs are necessary if the school has 
the practice of holding assembly exercises 1 at stated 
intervals or on special days such as Discovery Day, 

1 See also the discussion of the school assembly, in chapter xi. 



92 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Thanksgiving, Christmas, May Day, and Memorial Day. 
The development of the regular assembly programs and 
of these special day exercises effectively motivates all 
of the work done in preparation, whether it be compo- 
sition, dramatization, reading, or music. For example, 
the sixth grade of one school found a need for two pro- 
grams during the year. Naturally, much preparatory 
work was involved, and the desire of having a successful 
performance motivated many lessons that otherwise 
would have been uninspiring tasks. The school devel- 
oped a New Year's assembly program, this grade having 
charge of the principal features of the assembly exer- 
cises for the entire school at this particular time. The 
different numbers consisted of appropriate readings, 
songs, and compositions which had been developed in 
their regular work. 

Finally, the greatest stimulus of all is that which the 
children feel in the preparation of a program for the 
entertainment of an audience of mature people in a 
rather formal afternoon or evening program. 

Early in the fall term a fifth-grade class in a school 
decided to discharge their responsibility for providing a 
program for one of the meetings of the mothers' club 
by developing a play. They decided to set forth in 
dramatic form How Arthur Became King. The material 
needed for this dramatization they knew would be de- 
veloped in their history work. They also knew that one 
of the sets of supplementary readers which would come 
to them would provide the necessary concrete material 
for their dramatization. The development of the play, 
therefore, became the main motive around which the 
history work was organized. The execution of this large 
problem required, of course, the mastery of a series of 
historical stories and the drawing of illustrations. Not 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 93 

only was the finished product shared with the mothers' 
club at their meeting, but the other fifth grades were in- 
vited to enjoy the results of these labors. 

It is unnecessary to present here the detailed finished 
results in composition which are developed in working 
from this standpoint. It is evident, however, that there 
are many types of work which naturally develop if the 
interest of the children in sharing, helping, and enter- 
taining is allowed to operate normally. 

The motive of preservation. The fact that a child's 
writing may finally be preserved in a more or less per- 
manent form undoubtedly motivates wonderfully his 
efforts to write. Children need to preserve some of their 
work in written form for reference. This is true of out- 
ines and notebooks in English, history, geography, or 
nature-study. Most children are interested in preserv- 
ing some of their best compositions that they may note 
their own improvement. 

The motive of preservation is appealed to in a double 
sense when some interesting tradition or historic event 
which has never been written up for publication is dis- 
covered by the children. The hope of writing some- 
thing of sufficient merit to be selected for publication in 
a newspaper or in a school paper stimulates children to 
uncommon efforts in writing. In fact, the hope of writ- 
ing something worthy of publication is one of the strong- 
est motives for good writing that may be provided, for 
publication combines preservation, sharing, and some- 
times even commercial gain. The results in good com- 
position work which may be secured under the stimulus 
)f writing for publication are graphically illustrated in 
my school paper for which the students supply the 
3opy. A school wishing to stimulate good English work 
an undertake no more valuable enterprise than the 



94 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

publication, and if possible the printing, of a school 
paper. The teachers of the elementary schools in 
Decatur, Illinois, and in Topeka, Kansas, found the chil- 
dren were eager to write when one of the daily news- 
papers gave a half page per week for the publication of 
the "school paper" from some school. The fact that 
the best writing would be recognized and preserved in 
printed form motivated the gathering of items and 
the writing of incidents suitable for use in the school 
paper. 1 

Of course, in the upper grades and in the high school 
the exceptional child is occasionally found whose Eng- 
lish work is sufficiently motivated by his mere desire 
to speak and write correct, forceful English. He avails 
himself of every opportunity to speak or write that he 
may improve, and for the same reason he uses his lan- 
guage book and other technical sources of information 
that he may become a master in the use of English. 
The results he produces, whether writing merely to 
improve his ability or under the stimulus of some other 
immediate motive, are always good. It would be a se- 
rious mistake, however, to hold up to all children as an 
ideal to be attained such a style and such detailed finish 
as the specimen below illustrates. The effort should be 
rather to secure simple, direct, clear, interesting, force- 
ful English. 

The following quotation from a three-page composi- 
tion, written just for the joy of writing, by a ten-year- 
old girl, is typical of the results secured from gifted 
children when they write merely for the joy of it and for 
the improvement writing brings : — 

1 See chap, xifor a more extended discussion of the values of such 
writing. 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 95 

In the Dale of Flowers 

It was just dawn. I was wandering down a path leading to 
the Dale of Flowers. The sun was sending forth golden rays 
as messengers to bring tidings that a new day had begun. 
Fluffy pink and gold clouds drew themselves out of the dense 
blue of the sky to greet the coming sun. Flaming purple and 
red streaks stretched across the sky. 

The Dale of Flowers was as lovely as its name. An exu- 
berant growth of trees, vines and shrubs surrounded it. In- 
side the ground was covered with grass, making a green velvet 
carpet. Here and there clumps of flowers broke the smooth 
sheet of green. . . . 

The next time my glance was turned towards the East I saw 
that the sun was up, making its way through the roof of tan- 
gled branches, and throwing little bunches of golden sun- 
beams through the mass of leaves. It was now day. The Dale 
of Flowers looked like, nay far better, than a king's palace. 
The door was not a hard door of amber, but a door of soft, 
living vines, Nature's handiwork. The wall was not a wall of 
marble, but was one of trees, bushes, and vines. 

Although the results which can be secured from the 
rank and file will be far inferior to the results secured 
from those who are gifted in writing English, every child 
in the upper grades should write occasionally, at least, 
merely in the interest of producing as correct and inter- 
esting a bit of English as he can. 

Using the text. Stress has been laid on language 
or composition teaching which arises out of meeting 
actual life-problems. However, the use of this method 
does not imply that the language textbook is to be dis- 
carded. On the contrary, if the best results are to be 
secured, the text must be faithfully used as a source of 
aid and information in enabling the pupils to meet 
technical difficulties which appear as they try to talk 
or write. When questions of punctuation, sentence- 
structure, or grammatical accuracy arise, economic pro- 
cedure calls for the use of the text which has been 



96 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

adopted as the authority and guide. When the text is 
thus employed as a convenient tool for helping in the 
solution of actual problems which the children have 
met, its use is definitely motivated. It matters not how 
difficult the lessons may be, their mastery does not 
entail drudgery such as we find in the preparation of 
a lesson merely because it has been assigned by the 
teacher. Instead, the labor involved is willingly under- 
taken, because it will contribute to the doing of a piece 
of work of great importance to the student. 

Every experienced teacher appreciates, however, 
that the mere motivation of the study of the lessons in 
the text will not insure their mastery and the habitual 
use of correct English in accordance with the lessons 
studied. This unvarying use of correct English comes 
as the result of making correct usage habitual through 
drill and extended usage. Drill exercises 1 occupy so 
prominent a place in establishing correct usage that their 
adequate motivation becomes a separate problem. 

In the preceding pages the motivation of speaking and 
writing has been discussed and illustrated; but those 
motives which are adequate to move a child to speak 
and write with great freedom and enthusiasm will hardly 
be sufficient to motivate thoroughly the drill exercises 
which are essential in establishing correct usage. Ac- 
cordingly, the skillful teacher develops a large number of 
games, both oral and written, often involving competi- 
tion. The agreement of subject and predicate in number, 
the correct use of all common irregular verbs and of all 
usual idiomatic expressions, and so on, must be estab- 
lished through such drill exercises as may be provided 
in games involving quick, accurate responses, in supply- 
ing the correct language in exercises where omissions 
1 See Charters's Teaching the Common Branches, p. 68. 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 97 

occur, or in quickly giving correct responses to questions 
or problems rapidly stated by the teacher. 

The value of formal grammar. Since the children's 
needs in talking and writing determine the technical 
matter in language and composition which shall be 
taught, all facts and definitions which are not essential 
in speaking and writing correctly will be omitted. 
Modern practice is gradually recognizing that the ex- 
tended study of English grammar does not enable one to 
use better English or to interpret literature better. 1 
Since it does not help to solve such practical life-prob- 
lems as arise in the experience of children in the ele- 
mentary schools, its study cannot be motivated, so it 
will be omitted by the method of attack here presented. 
This is as it should be. If the text in use contains dead, 
obsolete matter not needed by children in talking and 
writing, why teach such matter? 2 Teachers who use 
modern language texts containing only functional matter 
and who motivate all of their language and composition 

1 For an extended statistical investigation pertaining to this topic, 
see Hoyt's "The Place of Grammar in the Elementary Schools/' 
Teachers College Record (November, 1906). 

Briggs has also demonstrated that the teaching of technical gram- 
mar is not justifiable from the standpoint of disciplining the mind. 
See Briggs's "Formal English Grammar as a Discipline," Teachers 
College Record (September, 1913). 

2 The application of this standard eliminates the teaching in the 
elementary schools of a large number of technical distinctions which 
it has been common to make in the grammar course in the upper 
grades. Among these may be cited the following by way of illustra- 
tion: Classifying nouns into abstract and concrete, distinguishing 
adjectives as limiting, descriptive, distinguishing the various ideas 
expressed by adverbial expressions as time, place, manner, classifying 
abstract nouns into those naming an action and into those naming a 
quality or condition. All of these distinctions may be made with 
accuracy even by elementary school children and all of them are true 
distinctions; but they are of no significance to children. Since such 
distinctions render no service, their mastery should not be required. 



98 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

work, find from repeated checkings of the work thus 
covered that every technical aspect of the work assigned 
by the course of study is always covered and that much 
matter assigned to preceding grades is always thor- 
oughly reviewed through using it in vital connections. 

To illustrate, a certain sixth-grade teacher reported 
that the language work assigned to her grade during a 
certain semester was all thoroughly taught through 
doing the following thirty-eight pieces of motivated 
work: — 

(1) A book of stories about vacation experiences was made 
for the second grade to read; (2) letter written inviting the 
third grade to play a dramatization of The Lion and the Mouse 
which the sixth grade wrote; (3) letter to the superintendent 
of schools inviting him to see the dramatization and enclosing 
a copy of the dramatization; (4) letter of thanks and appre- 
ciation to the third grade after they presented the dramatiza- 
tion; (5) letters to parents inviting them to witness a repeti- 
tion of the dramatization; (6) letter to the superintendent of 
schools asking permission to visit a sorghum mill; (7) letter 
to the owner of the mill asking his permission to inspect the 
mill and to learn the process of making sorghum, and also one 
to citizens owning automobiles asking that they take them to 
the mill; (8) letters of thanks to the superintendent of schools, 
the owner of the mill, and the owners of the automobiles after 
the visit; (9) a written account of their experiences at the mill 
to lend to other grades which did not visit the mill; (10) letters 
inviting parents to attend the school's Thanksgiving exer- 
cises and enclosing program; (11) letter of request and later 
one of thanks to the principal of another school for the loan 
of a picture needed in a colonial life scene in the Thanksgiving 
program; (12) letters of request and later of thanks to the kin- 
dergarten teacher for the loan of her small chairs, to a citizen 
for the loan of his curtain-stretchers, and to the teacher of 
another grade for the loan of some Indian shields, all for use 
in presenting the Thanksgiving program; (13) letters of thanks 
to the first grade for the privilege of witnessing their drama- 
tization of parts of Hiawatha; (14) letters at Thanksgiving- 
time such as the early colonists might have written to friends 



MOTIVATION OF LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 99 

in Europe; (15) invitations to all in the building and to all 
supervisory officers of the schools to witness their Discovery- 
Day exercises of October 12; (16) making programs for the Dis- 
covery-Day exercises; (17) writing play for the Discovery- 
Day program; (18) letter of request and later one of thanks 
to the seventh grade for the loan of costumes needed in pre- 
senting the Discovery-Day program; (19) similar letter to a 
citizen for the loan of Indian relics; (20) letter of invitation 
and later one of thanks to the second-grade teacher asking 
her to tell of her travels in comiection with certain geography 
work; (21) letter of request and later one of thanks by girls 
to a local shoe dealer for shoe boxes in which to keep their 
sewing ; (22) letter of request and later one of thanks to an old 
citizen for information about early pioneer life in Kentucky, 
needed in connection with history work; (23) letter of greet- 
ing accompanied by flowers to this same citizen on his eighty- 
seventh birthday; (24) working out story of the life of Wagner 
to enable them better to understand some of his musical pro- 
ductions; (25) letters of reply to children in Stratford, Eng- 
land. (Each child gave particular attention to some one thing 
in or about his town or State that no other child was to write 
about: gathering the information necessitated visits to fac- 
tories, post-office, waterworks, public library, Y.M.C.A., 
Y.W.C.A., depots, coal-shaft, etc., also letters of inquiry to 
newspapers, Chamber of Commerce, factories) ; (26) letter of 
sympathy, accompanied by a basket of fruit, to a sick school- 
mate; (27) letter of thanks to a citizen who brought his Vic- 
trola to the school at Christmas-time, playing selections ap- 
propriate to the Christmas season too difficult for the pupils 
to sing; (28) Christmas greetings to teachers and supervisory 
officers of schools; (29) preparing a February booklet contain- 
ing papers and programs pertaining to noted men born in Feb- 
ruary; (30) compiling booklet recording legends of St. Patrick's 
Day; (31) replying to letters from Indian children; (32) letter 
of sympathy to a classmate at the time of his grandfather's 
death; (33) compiling the history of the school this grade 
attended, it being the oldest school in the city; (34) compiling 
booklet of Easter legends; (35) writing essays in competition 
for a prize offered by a citizen on " The Attraction and Pro- 
tection of Song Birds "; (36) girls answering an advertisement 
in local paper for " Girl Wanted "; (37) boys answering an 



100 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

advertisement in local paper for " Boy Wanted "; (38) letter 
of request and later one of thanks to the superintendent of 
schools in connection with a school picnic at the close of the 
year. 

A careful examination of the experience of several 
teachers in employing the method illustrated by the 
work of the sixth-grade teacher shows that genuine need 
appears for employing not only all of the material as- 
signed by the course of study and the pages of the 
language text, but much other significant and valuable 
material. This enlarged and enriched procedure is inevi- 
table, of course, when the problems undertaken are real 
life-problems to the participants. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 

Re-living history. Enough of the history work can be 
organized around thoroughly motivated situations to 
create a keen interest in the subject and to secure joyful 
effort on the part of children in the mastery of as much 
of history as is necessary to secure the purposes of the 
subject in the public-school curriculum. History deals 
with human activity, with deeds, with events. These can 
be re enacted and re-lived. The first and highest type 
of motivated history work is this actual doing of things 
in an objective way. Some of the things which were 
actually done along this line were reported in 1911 by 
a committee of the National Education Association, as 
follows: modeling cave, tools, etc., used by the early 
cave man; learning the structure of a mediaeval castle 
in detail so as to rebuild it in clay; working on the period 
of discovery and exploration to acquire the knowledge 
necessary to participate in a conference of the different 
nations which settled America; writing imaginary diaries 
of great men; making supposed speeches of statesmen; 
representing a constituency in the Legislature or Con- 
gress; preparing to debate some questions which were 
before Congress for settlement; dramatizing scenes, 
stories, and epochs; arranging a pageant. 

. The reports indicate that all of these undertakings 
were conceived and carried out as the pupils' own. With 
a skillful teacher to guide in the collection of data and to 
insure the proper historic atmosphere, the pupil who 



102 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

helps in remodeling a cave or building a castle must get 
into a life and civilization quite limited and hampered 
in comparison with the present. He cannot participate 
in a conference of nations, write a Revolutionary diary, 
or make a speech in Congress without coming to a vivid 
realization of the thoughts and aspirations of the pa- 
triotic Americans who made our glorious history. For 
this purpose the drama and pageant are equally valua- 
ble. 

The solution of a modern problem. The second type 
of motivated work and that most nearly approaching 
the first in strength and importance is the enlistment of 
children in the solution of a problem developed out of 
their own interests. For example : To what extent should 
the United States restrict immigration? Should the 
United States establish a protectorate over Mexico if 
necessary in order to restore peace and prosperity there? 
All true history is a problem. 

Other motives. A third type of motive which is im- 
portant, although not so vital, is the desire of the pupil 
to improve any opportunity to contribute to the benefit 
of other members of the class. A pupil may so contribute 
by making a special report, by getting additional in- 
formation from the library, by bringing something of 
historic interest from home, or by assisting a member of 
the class who has difficulty with his work. 

A further motive that should not be neglected is the 
child's interest in stories of heroism and adventure, giv- 
ing opportunity to use the historic novel, or romances 
clustering about a historic event or situation. 

An interest in people is a fifth usable motive. Biog- 
raphy appeals to children in all grades, but is especially 
valuable in the lower grades where it is not possible to 
develop an interest in abstract problems. Children's in- 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 103 

terest in people gives the opportunity to impart a great 
amount of historical information and also develops in- 
terest in further knowledge. 

The first two types of motivated work are most fully 
illustrated in the following pages. The others are sim- 
pler, more easily used, and do not carry such high values. 

The Constitutional Convention in class. The work 
with eighth-grade pupils on the United States Constitu- 
tion, as taught during a period of two or three years in a 
certain school, furnishes a good illustration of motiva- 
tion in history work. 1 It had been the custom to spend 
six weeks upon the study of the United States Constitu- 
tion, at the beginning of the National Period. The pupils 
considered this task exceedingly difficult and uninter- 
esting, and the teacher had real trouble in getting good 
work done. Because of the difficulty of the situation the 
teacher had considered the advisability of omitting the 
work on the Constitution. However, it appeared to be 
of real value, since many of the pupils do not reach the 
American history work in the fourth year of high school, 
where civics is taught. With this thought in mind, the 
suggestion was made that the teacher make the work 
more interesting by organizing the grade into a Constitu- 
tional Convention, indicating to each pupil the char- 
acter that he was to represent. The teacher was skep- 
tical both as to the feasibility of the plan and as to 
her ability to carry it out. Accordingly, another term 
passed in which the work was done in the old way with 
the usual difficulty. When the time came for this work 
the next term, the suggestion of a Constitutional Con- 
vention was repeated to the teacher. She still hesitated 
to undertake it, but finally agreed, and asked that some 

1 Reported in part in the Elementary School Teacher, September, 
1912. 



104 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

assistance be given her in organizing and starting the 
work. This was a normal situation, with the teacher in 
the proper frame of mind, although a little skeptical as 
to results. The superintendent and teacher planned the 
work together very carefully. A sufficient number (six 
copies) of Madison's Journal of the Constitutional Con- 
vention were secured, to enable the class of thirty-five 
pupils to get along fairly well. Madison's Journal had 
been referred to on previous occasions, but being very 
difficult to handle no use had been made of it. 

The Constitutional Convention was organized by 
electing George Washington (the teacher acting in this 
capacity) as president, and by electing some member (not 
necessarily Madison) as secretary. A committee was ap- 
pointed to draw up rules to govern the deliberations and 
discussions. This committee was required to report at 
the second session. After the adoption of the rules, Mr. 
Randolph was permitted to open the main discussion by 
presenting the Virginia plan. The work from this point 
on was necessarily very greatly simplified. The teacher 
experienced no difficulty in getting a hearty response 
from the pupils. In fact, the next meeting of the Con- 
vention became the chief topic for conversation among 
the pupils. A particular topic was assigned for the next 
meeting, say, for illustration, the length of the term for 
which the President shall serve. A pupil's preparation 
for the next session consisted in finding out his char- 
acter's view upon this subject. It was the duty of the 
pupil representing Mr. Pinckney to be prepared to pre- 
sent Mr. Pinckney's views to the Convention. The 
pupil representing Mr. Sherman was to be prepared 
to present Mr. Sherman's views, and so on throughout 
the list. It was the further duty of each pupil to know 
whether the man he represented introduced any resolu- 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 105 

tions having reference to the length of the term of the 
Presidency. When the next session of the Convention 
was called (a week later), each pupil was prepared to 
present his views with reference to the topic assigned, to 
enter into the discussions, to make motions, and to vote. 
In fact, he was prepared to be a real member of the Con- 
vention and to have a part in the making of the United 
States Constitution. 

After the first topic had been worked over in this way 
there was no longer any doubt as to the success of the 
plan. The teacher was as enthusiastic as the pupils. 
She was a thoroughly competent teacher and this con- 
tributed much to the success of the plan. Since the plan 
was adopted there have been several Constitutional 
Conventions. The six copies of Madison's Journal 
which were in the public library have been completely 
worn out and the school has since bought additional 
copies. 

While this special work is being carried on and the 
session of the Convention is being held about once a 
week, the other days of the week are given to a syste- 
matic study of the Constitution — the reasons for call 
ing the Constitutional Convention, the defects of the 
Articles of Confederation, the great compromises of the 
Constitution, the organization of the different phases of 
the Government, the opposition to the Constitution and 
its final adoption by the necessary number of States, and 
finally, the election of the first President and the organi- 
zation of the new Government under the Constitution. 
But it must be said that this work is conducted in an 
entirely different spirit from that formerly displayed. 
The pupils seem to assume more or less of a proprietary 
interest in the United States Constitution. They under- 
stand just how difficult a matter it was to make the Con- 



106 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

stitution, the differences of view which prevailed, the 
compromises, the divisions, etc., which took place during 
the process of making the Constitution and bringing it 
into final form. 

Topics which are studied in sessions of the Constitu- 
tional Convention vary, of course, from time to time. 
A session is usually held upon the powers of Congress 
in order to call special attention to the elastic clause of 
the Constitution (last paragraph, art. I, sec. 8) and to 
prepare for the use of this clause by Hamilton in his 
conflict with Jefferson during the organization of the 
Government. A session is devoted to the regulation of 
commerce in order to emphasize the compromises based 
upon this important subject. Another topic which 
has been found very helpful and which lends itself readily 
to treatment in the Convention, is the basis for repre- 
sentation in the lower House. Topics in connection 
with the Executive, in addition to the one mentioned 
above, which have been treated from time to time are: 
(1) A single, dual, or triple Executive; (2) powers of 
the Executive; (3) manner of electing the Executive; 
(4) eligibility for reelection. 

The edition of Madison's Journal used for this work 
is indexed by subjects and by persons. After the pupil 
becomes accustomed to the general plan of the Journal 
and learns how to use the index, he has no difficulty in 
ascertaining his view upon any subject by looking under 
his assumed name in the index, and following through 
the points there indicated. He easily sees whether or not 
he has said anything upon the topic for discussion. The 
understanding is that in case he has said nothing, he 
shall turn to the topic and read the views of one or two 
persons who do speak. This gives him the general line 
of argument. By keeping in mind his attitude in general, 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 107 

it is possible for him to shape his views and say a word, 
even though he does not actually discuss the topic 
as indicated by the Journal. For instance, Alexander 
Hamilton, when present, was always conservative and 
doubted the advisability of conferring much power upon 
the people; while Wilson, of Pennsylvania, was thor- 
oughly democratic, trusted the people, and sought at all 
times to give the people an opportunity to participate 
fully in the Government. Wilson even favored the elec- 
tion of the President by direct vote. With this knowl- 
edge of the general attitude of Hamilton and Wilson, 
the pupils representing them would have little difficulty 
in properly presenting their attitude on almost any sub- 
ject. And so it is with others, although few are so easily 
represented as are Hamilton and Wilson, since few are 
so consistent throughout. 

In handling the Convention the teacher places all of 
the responsibility upon the pupils and so apparently 
has little to do in organizing or furthering the work. As 
a matter of fact, however, the teacher's plans, especially 
when the work is being done for the first time, must be 
very definite and may require considerable extra time. 
The following gives the teacher's outline in preparation 
for the discussion of the length of the term of the Executive. 

Length of term of the Executive 

Terms of years left blank in Virginia plan (pp. 62 and 69). 

Seven years agreed to in Committee of the Whole, discus- 
sion suggesting from two to eight years (p. 91). 

Wilson moved for three years (p. 88). 

Pinckney moved for seven years (p. 88). 

Sherman for three years, and against rotation (p. 88). 

Mason for seven years and for prohibiting reeligibility 
(p. 88). 

Bedford against long term. Favored three years and eligi- 
bility for three terms (p. 89). 



108 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Ineligible after seven years agreed to by vote, seven to two, 

Pennsylvania divided. 
Final form of report of Committee of Whole on Virginia 

plan, seven years (p. 161). 
New Jersey plan left years blank (p. 165). 
Hamilton's plan favored life term of Executive (p. 183), or 

" during good behavior " (p. 185). 
Ninth resolution of Committee of Whole on Executive re- 
ported favoring seven years (p. 365). 
Dr. McClurg moved "during good behavior" (p. 369). 
Seconded by Gouverneur Morris (p. 370). 
Opposed by Sherman, Mason (pp. 370-72). 
Six years agreed upon (p. 390). 
Mr. Williamson, ten or twelve years (p. 420). 
Eleven, fifteen, twenty, and eight years suggested (p. 422). 
Seven years agreed upon (p. 437). 
Seven years in first draft of Constitution (p. 457). 
Four years first mentioned in report of Committee of Eleven, 

Mr. Brearly, chairman; electors also proposed here 

(p. 654). 
Mr. Hutledge moved to change to seven years; failed 

(p. 664). 
Four years in first complete draft (p. 707), and in final form 

(p. 756). 

It will be noticed that with this outline before her the 
teacher is prepared to say to Mr. Pinckney, in case Mr. 
Pinckney asks a question, "You will find your views 
explained on page 88." To Mr. Bedford she can say, 
" Your views as to the length of term, as also for re- 
eligibility, will be found on page 89." She can refer Mr. 
Hamilton to pages 183 and 185. Those not having a part 
in the discussion may be referred to the first plan on 
page 91, the plan as given in the first report of the 
Committee of the Whole on page 161, the further con- 
sideration of the report of the Committee of the Whole 
on the Executive on page 385, the agreement on the 
modification of the report of the Committee of the 
Whole on page 390, the unsettled opinion as to the 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 109 

length of the term as shown on page 422, or the first 
mention of the present term on page 654. 

This illustration of motivated work on the Constitu- 
tional Convention has been worked out fully enough to 
enable any teacher to take the idea and put it into 
practice. It is the belief of the authors that our formal 
textbook work persists, because teachers are not helped 
to substitute something better and more life-giving. 
One of the aims of the present work is to aid such sub- 
stitution. This work on the Constitutional Convention 
uses the dramatic instinct, and makes the pupil an actor 
of history. It gives work which appeals to his best 
efforts. It furnishes interest and motive. 

Dramatizing historic events. History frequently fails 
of its purpose because it fails to live for the pupil. It is 
too often nothing more than verbal memory work. A 
striking illustration of this fact is furnished by a sixteen- 
year-old girl who once committed and recited to her 
teacher the discovery of America by Cabot, without the 
least conception of the objective significance of what she 
was talking about. She had been permitted to recite in 
that way for so long that the most drastic measures were 
required to awaken her. 

History must live, or it fails of its purpose. Dramatic 
treatment gives life. This was demonstrated by a 
seventh-grade class which was plodding along with the 
situation in England and Holland that finally caused 
the Pilgrims to move to this country. It was a slow 
class and the teacher was thoroughly disheartened. 

"Don't blame the class," the superintendent said; 
"do something." 

The teacher was ready to do anything that promised 
relief. The next day at recitation time English officers 
entered with warrants for the arrest of twelve members 



110 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

of the class for not attending the services of the Estab- 
lished Church on the previous Sabbath. They were 
shackled and imprisoned in the principal's office. While 
in prison, they decided to leave for Holland in order to 
have religious liberty. 

This was a new experience. The class was thoroughly 
aroused. The next day the class was discussing the 
English in Holland, when they were suddenly interrupted 
by some of the other children who ran into the room in 
their play. To the amazement of the Pilgrims all of the 
conversation was in a foreign language, this part being 
played by sixth-grade pupils who were studying German. 
A meeting was called and it was decided that they should 
go to America in order that their children might grow 
up with English habits, language, and ideals, rather 
than with those of a foreign country. 

By this time the class had entered fully into the spirit 
of the work. They were beginning to like history. The 
teacher realized a difference. From that time on the 
pupils were looking for opportunities to dramatize sec- 
tions of the work. The teacher held back enough to make 
them consider it a special favor, but continued to use 
this plan of motivating and enriching the work. 

The spirit soon reached the high school. The typical 
high-school teacher finds difficulty in getting out of the 
textbook into life. But our high schools will never per- 
form their greatest service so long as they continue to 
treat high-school pupils as so many empty vessels to be 
mechanically filled with facts gathered from mechan- 
ically assigned pages. The high-school teacher must 
learn a better pedagogy. In this particular high school 
the recitation work has been modified very slowly, but 
some real problems have been developed and the text- 
book has become less of an end, more of a means. In the 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 111 

line of pageantry, however, the work has developed quite 
successfully. A Thanksgiving program in the form of a 
pageant was presented by the history department as a 
night entertainment in the high-school auditorium. The 
pupils were costumed, and the effort was made to pre- 
sent the historical situations in their true spirit. The 
following program gives a brief summary of this : — 

THANKSGIVING PAGEANT 

Act I 

Manse of Elder Brewster, Scrooby, England. 
Elder Brewster has asked several to remain after the morn- 
ing services to discuss the religious situation. 

Act II 

Holland. Home of Mr. and Mrs. Winslow. 

Scene I. Mr. and Mrs. Winslow decide to call in some 
friends to discuss the wisdom of leaving Holland. 

Scene II. Same place. Pilgrims decide to emigrate to 
America. 

Scene III. Shore, Delftshaven. Pastor Robinson gives his 
blessing to the departing Pilgrims. 

Music. Orchestra. 

Act III 

On Mayflower, nearing Cape Cod. The cabin of the vessel. 
Signing of the compact. 

Chorus. Landing of Pilgrims. 

Act IV 

Scenes I and II. Elder Brewster's home in Plymouth. Puri- 
tan girls and women discuss the Governor's Thanksgiving 
holiday. Plans made for the feast. 

Music. MacDowell's 1620. 

Act V 

Scene I. Indian camp of Chief Massasoit. Squanto brings 
message from Governor Bradford, inviting Indians to Thanks- 
giving feast. 



112 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Scene II. Governor Bradford and Elder Brewster discuss 
the feast, and day of Thanksgiving. 

Scene III. Day of feast. Elder Brewster's home. Prepara- 
tions made by the women. Arrival of Indians, also Captain 
Standish and soldiers. 

Characters 

Elder and Dame Brewster Priscilla 

Master Chilton Weston 

Master Bradford Dame Goodman 

Deacon and Dame Carver Mary Chilton 

Mr. Went worth Councilor Allerton 

Mistress Wentworth Elizabeth Tilley 
Josiah and Penelope Winslow Helen Billington 

Pastor John Robinson Dame Hopkins 

James Winslow and Puritan women 

Dutch playmate Hans Puritan girls 

Mistress Brewster Indians 

Mr. and Mrs. Minter Pilgrims 

Desire Minter Massasoit 

Rose Standish Squanto 

John Alden Quadequina 

Doctor Fuller Captain Standish and soldiers 

As Pastor Robinson, on the shore of Delftshaven, 
pronounced his parting blessing in Scene III, Act II, 
the entire audience were wonderfully impressed. Many 
of them began to realize, as never before, the true spirit 
of the Pilgrims and the forces which brought them to 
America. The pupils had caught the historic spirit and 
were re-living it that night for the benefit of parents and 
friends. 

In April, the history department of this high school 
presented another pageant, A Greek Evening, or An 
Evening in Mythland. A Greek theater was arranged in 
the high-school gymnasium. Invitations were issued to 
two hundred friends and patrons. The plan was agreed 
upon and worked out by teachers and pupils. Since 
only three days were given to practice, a committed and 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 113 

finished product was not attempted. The pupils, how- 
ever, were costumed and entered heartily into the spirit 
of the work. All was life and interest. Greek life in 
general, and the Trojan War in particular, were lived 
over again by the pupils. The program and characters 
are indicated herewith : — 

AN EVENING IN MYTHLAND 

Friday, April 19, 1912 

Connersville High School 

Program 

Part One 
A Pageant of Greek Gods and Heroes 

Part Two 

The Trojan War 

I. The Prologue . . . Clio, Muse of History 

Act I 

Scene I. The Marriage Feast of Peleus and Thetis. 
Scene II. The Decision of Paris. 
Scene III. The Assembling of the Chiefs 

Act II 
Scene I. The Plague among the Greeks. 
Scene II. The Wrath of Achilles. 
Scene III. The Stratagem of Odysseus. 
Scene IV. The Discovery of the Wooden Horse by the 

Trojans. 
Scene V. Victory for the Greeks and the Forgiveness of 

Helen. 

Characters 
Zeus, father of gods Ares, god of war 

Hera, his wife Poseidon, god of the sea 

Athena, goddess of wisdom Artemis, goddess of the chase 
and war Hestia, goddess of the home 



114 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Demeter, goddess of grain Agamemnon, leader of expedi- 

Aphrodite, goddess of beauty tion against Troy 

and love Diomedes, Ajax, Patroclus, 

Apollo, god of manly beauty Nestor, Odysseus, Pala- 

Hermes, messenger of the gods medes, Achilles, Greek war- 

Eris, goddess of discord riors 

Hephaetus, god of fire and forge Priam, King of Troy 

Ganymede, cup-bearer of the Laocoon, priest of Trojans 

gods Chryses, priest of Trojans 

Peleus, the bridegroom Calchas, priest of Greeks 

Thetis, the bride Simon, Greek spy 

Paris, Prince of Troy Trojan maidens 

Menelaus, King of Sparta Trojan warriors 

When history has once been made to live for pupils 
through dramatic presentation or the pageant, it is 
difficult to abandon this type of work. The pupils are 
interested and they demand more, no matter that it 
requires much more time and energy. It is not surpris- 
ing, therefore, that in this city where much had already 
been undertaken, a larger dramatic pageant should 
have been carried through successfully two years later. 
It is not surprising that the English teacher agreed to 
correlate the English with the history and so give addi- 
tional time to the undertaking. It is not surprising that 
the work was presented as the principal feature of com- 
mencement week, and that the interest and enthusiasm 
of the entire city were enlisted. 

It was the one hundredth anniversary of the founding 
of the city, and this pageant was arranged as a centen- 
nial celebration. The purpose is plain from the following 
section quoted from the prologue: — 

Prologue of the Pageant of Connersville 

Should you ask me why this pageant, 
Why a theme like this was taken, 
I should answer, I should tell you, 
That before the old men leave us, 



MOTIVATION OP HISTORY 115 

Leave us guessing and unknowing, 
How and when the white man came here, 
We would like to know the story 
Of our town and growing city. 

Should you ask, what can we tell you 
Other than what has been written? 
I should answer, I should tell you, 
None have thought it necessary 
To write down the facts of history, 
And that they who now remember 
Every year grow fewer, fewer. 
So we beg of you to listen, 
As our pageant now progresses, 
To this history, this unfolding, 
To this story of our city. 

Near the shores of the White Water 
And on all the land adjoining, 
Long before the white man came here 
Were great beech and oak trees growing. 
Pitched their wigwams, fished and hunted, 
Warriors with their plumes and war clubs. 
Danced their dances, entered contests 
In which fame lay in endurance. 
But it could not always be so, 
That the Indians freely wandered. 
White men further were exploring, 
Further into the great forests, 
Trading for furs with the Indians. 
Thus it happened that John Conner, 
With his love for the deep forests 
Where no white man yet had entered; 
Built he of the logs a cabin 
Where he traded with the Indians, 
Traded for the furs they brought him. 
Still the white men further traveled, 
Further into the great forests, 
Till at length they reached this region, 
Bordering on the great White Water. 
Here they settled with their families, 



116 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Settled in this fertile valley, 
Where in eighteen hundred thirteen 
Our beloved town was platted, 
Connersville, by name, from Conner. 

The following is a brief synopsis of the play which pre- 
ceded the pageant : — 

The first scene in Act I represents an Indian camp, and is 
typical of the life of the red men before the arrival of civilized 
people. The feast following a successful hunt is interrupted 
by the arrival of a war-party with two captives. The captives 
are forced to run the gauntlet and the scene closes with a fren- 
zied war-dance. 

The second scene is at Conner's Trading Post, established 
on the present site of the city by John Conner in 1808. A 
typical scene of barter with the Indians is presented, — the 
exchange of knives, blankets, bright calico, and trinkets for 
the furs of the Indian trapper. 

Act II depicts the home life and conditions of the people of 
the city in 1846. The first scene is a social, an "apple bee," 
followed by the dancing of the Virginia reel when the apples 
are all pared. The second scene portrays the log-cabin school 
of that day, the schoolmaster, a visit by the trustees, a Friday 
afternoon program, closing with a spelling-match. The third 
scene of the act shows a singing-school of the period, with its 
old-time singing-master training the young folks to sing scales 
and songs. 

Act III shows the city at the time of the Civil War, and the 
various scenes of the act are reproductions of the actual hap- 
penings during April and May of 1861. 

The final act is the pageant itself. The development of the 
city is presented by decades which Father Time reviews and 
explains to Progress. At the close Progress presents the 
various industries of the city (thirty in all), and prophesies 
for the city an even brighter future. 

No one who participated in the above project doubts 
in the least its value to the pupils in furnishing an enter- 
prise thoroughly worth while, in arousing an unusual 
interest in history, and in giving a sense of historic 
values impossible in any other way. 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 117 

The teacher, having most to do with the pageant 
work in this school system is thoroughly convinced of its 
value. She says : — 

The pupils went to the townspeople for information in re- 
gard to the early history of the city and found valuable mate- 
rial which they were able to use. The last scene showing the 
industrial development of the city was a great factor in devel- 
oping community interest. Men in the different industries 
made suggestions and in many cases volunteered to furnish 
materials. 

The social-group method. Miss Clark of the Charles- 
town, Massachusetts, High School, makes a report in 
the School Review (vol. 17, p. %55) on a good way to 
teach history. This is an illustration of high-school 
work that is directly based upon the desire of the pupil 
to be of account; to have a part in the doing of things; to 
be given an opportunity to exercise his originality and 
resourcefulness. It is a thoroughly motivated piece of 
work, the motive coming largely from the type of organ- 
ization to begin with, but gradually working out into 
lines of effort which are developed through the initiative 
of the students themselves. Miss Clark says : * — 

After having taught history in the high school for six years 
I determined to have the courage of my convictions for one 
year, at least, and to give my pupils a fair chance to take the 
responsibility of their work and to do it in their own way. Up 
to this time I had conducted my lessons in the usual way, had 
planned the lesson beforehand, collected what illustrative 
material I could, and in the class had asked the questions, 
explained the difficulties, and carried the burden of the work 
on my shoulders. The pupils had answered my questions, but 
rarely asked any, and had had no chance to get the real bene- 
fit of being responsible for the continuity and progress of the 
work, nor to plan, investigate, or discuss it on their own ac- 
count. I determined that the class should be a social group of 

1 King, Education for Social Efficiency, pp. 246-51. 



118 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

young people and should have an opportunity to do just those 
things, i.e., to cooperate — to work together — and to give 
each individual a chance to do anything which he particularly 
wanted to do. 

It seemed impossible at first to get a chance to try this 
group work. The conditions in the high school make it diffi- 
cult. Instead of having the same pupils for five hours each 
day, we have a different set every hour, and they are with us 
but forty-five minutes. Some of these classes we see only 
three times a week, and, as a number of them are preparing 
for college and normal school, there is not a moment to be 
wasted. Furthermore, I did not feel warranted in trying any 
experiment which would unsettle the classes and make them 
harder to control in other recitations. 

In spite of all this, however, I determined to give the social- 
group work a fair trial. I talked the matter over with the 
classes, showed them why the lessons we had been having were 
unsatisfactory, and asked them how they would like to try 
the experiment of running their history lessons themselves. 
The novelty of the idea pleased them, and after considerable 
informal discussion we decided to carry on our relations in the 
form of business meetings, such as any group of people would 
have who had come together to accomplish a piece of work. 
A chairman was appointed from the class and there was some- 
thing of a sensation when I exchanged chairs with him. He 
appointed a committee to nominate candidates for president, 
vice-president, and secretary. These officers were elected by 
ballot for one month, and their duties were decided upon by 
the class and written down in a simple constitution. We had 
an amusing time when they tried to decide what they ought 
to do with me. I told them I should do just as little as pos- 
sible in the class, in order that they might have all the time 
and opportunity there was. They finally decided to call me 
"the executive officer," with power to exercise full authority 
if necessity required. 

It was surprising to see the change in the whole atmosphere 
of the recitations which this order of things brought about. 
The pupils were timid at first, and I trembled for the result, 
but after a lesson or two they became used to it, and the 
work went on with far more ease and spirit than I had dared 
hope it would. Here is a brief sketch of the new kind of reci- 
tation: — 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 119 

(1) The president called the class to order and called the 
roll. 

(2) He asked for the secretary's report, which was cor- 
rected by the class and formally accepted. 

(3) The president asked if there were any unfinished busi- 
ness. If so, that was taken up first; if not, — 

(4) The lesson of the day was called for. Whoever wished 
to speak arose, addressed the chair, and began to describe the 
historical events in the lesson. If he made a mistake or 
omitted anything, another pupil who noticed it arose, and, 
when recognized by the president, made the corrections he 
thought necessary. Sometimes these corrections were not 
correct, or did not go far enough, and several others entered 
into the discussion. When there were several pupils on the 
floor at once, the one who was recognized first by the presi- 
dent had the floor and the others had to await their turn. 
That prevented disorder. This part of the work proved to 
be of great value. The pupils questioned one another's state- 
ments, and when they could not agree, the point was left over 
as unfinished business until the next day. In the mean time 
they consulted authorities to be able to prove their points, 
and they used their reasoning powers to good advantage. 

There were all sorts of unexpected, interesting develop- 
ments as the work went on. Whenever difficulties arose, we 
solved them together. My opinion was considered of no more 
importance than theirs. When we did not agree, I urged them 
to try their way so that they might have confidence in their 
own judgment if they succeeded, or see its weakness if they 
failed. Sometimes they elected officers who were not efficient 
and who bungled matters uncomfortably. The pupils suffered 
immediately and got some pointed lessons in civil government 
at first hand. 

To tell all this sounds as if it must have taken a great deal 
of time As a matter of fact, we soon found that we had time 
to spare. The time which previously had been taken up by 
the teacher's questions was all saved, and the pupils could 
easily recite in half an hour what it had taken them an hour 
to prepare. The reports of the secretary helped considerably 
with the review work, and as the class grew more critical of 
both the history and the English of these reports the secre- 
taries grew more careful, and very often we had reports read 
with which no fault could be found. The roll-call and report 



120 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK] 

were sometimes finished in five minutes, the lesson of the day 
in thirty more, and we found ourselves with ten minutes to 
spare. 

There were various suggestions as to what we had better 
do with the extra time. One was that they take longer les- 
sons, and this led us into the habit of letting them assign their 
own lessons, and they almost always took longer ones than I 
had been in the habit of assigning to them. Another sugges- 
tion was that the scholars collect pictures and show them to 
the class during spare minutes. One boy said he did n't have 
much luck finding pictures, but he would like to read things 
in other books and tell them to the class. A girl asked if she 
might draw some pictures from a book in the library, and an- 
other boy asked me to get permission for him to take photo- 
graphs at the Aj*t Museum of the casts that related to our 
work. We did all these things and many more, and these 
suggestions led to the richest development of all in the work 
of that year. They formed themselves into little volunteer 
clubs, met at recess and after school, and considered what 
they could do to contribute things of interest to the lessons. 
There were drawing clubs, camera clubs, and the club that 
brought in pictures and newspaper clippings and gave inter- 
esting accounts which they had read, called themselves the 
"Sidelights Club." We used the last half of the last lesson 
each week for the reports of these clubs. They all did well for 
beginners, but the work of the drawing clubs was truly re- 
markable. Never before have I had such beautiful illustra- 
tive material. A point worth noting is that some of the finest 
drawings were made by the poorest talkers. 

This teacher further says : — 

The discipline of these three classes was the easiest I had 
ever had, and it became almost unnecessary as the years went 
on. . . . And what was the teacher's part in this new order 
of things? She was learning the truth of the statement that 
"no teacher is equal to the dynamic force of the class before 
her." Her time and energy were taxed to the utmost to util- 
ize all that the pupils produced, to help to get materials for 
them, to find and suggest books to be consulted, and to give 
them credit for the work done. 

Florence V. Watkins, of the Speyer School, reported * 

1 Teachers College Record (January, 1911). 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 121 

the following history work in the eighth grade. It is 
given as a splendid illustration of the way in which 
motivated work may encourage originality, of the re- 
sourcefulness which it inspires, the possibilities of cor- 
relation with other work which it develops, and the 
enthusiasm which it arouses among the pupils. This 
brief report of the Constitutional Convention supple- 
ments and reinforces the report from another school 
given earlier in the chapter. We quote direct : — 

When school began this fall the pupils in the eighth grade 
had at the best but a "passive interest" in history and geo- 
graphy. In fact there seemed no enthusiasm for any study 
except literature and composition. How to get them to be 
really interested became the problem. One night, while mak- 
ing from the textbook a list of the important events of the war 
of the Revolution, an inspiration came. Why not write our 
own histories and thus make use of the enthusiasm the chil- 
dren already felt for literature to help them become interested 
in history? We went to work at once. 

The pupils were urged to read from all the available his- 
tories and then to select the events that struck them the most 
forcibly. We first listed the important causes of the war of 
the Revolution, and then, by years, the big, significant bat- 
tles, from which great issues seemed to come. The children 
read from the various histories at their command and then 
brought to class their reports as to what seemed to them im- 
portant. We compared notes and gave reasons for our deci- 
sions. When we all agreed that an event was of real impor- 
tance, each child wrote it up for himself. The first draft was 
handed in, corrected by the teacher, and then the matter was 
neatly copied into large notebooks bound in boards. These 
notebooks were illustrated by the use of Brown's pictures and 
maps. For instance, there were several pictures of the battles 
of Lexington and Concord, a picture of the Concord statue of 
the minute-man, another of the monument and bridge at 
Concord, with a map of the New England States, on which 
the two towns were located. 

When we came to the battles of Concord and Lexington, 
the pupils wrote letters describing the thrilling events of the 



122 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

night before, when Paul Revere took his great ride. Into the 
histories must go pictures of Paul Revere and of his home. 
So interested were the children in this that then and there 
we commenced our diaries of the war of the Revolution. In 
these diaries we wrote anything that a boy or girl imagined 
would have been written had the writer been living in 1775. 
Readings from Hart's Source Books helped us to get into the 
spirit of the times. So well did the pupils achieve this that 
when our principal was reading extracts frOm some of the 
diaries she remarked to the teacher: "You or I would not be 
ashamed to be the author of one of these 'journals.' " Sev- 
eral extracts from two of these diaries follow : — 

"April 18, 1775. Much excited by troubles in and around 
Boston. Crops are sprouting. Built a scarecrow to keep away 
crows." 

"April 19. Last night about one o'clock a man came gal- 
loping past yelling, 'To arms! to arms! The British are com- 
ing ! ' My father and I hurriedly dressed, and, taking our guns 
and all the ammunition at hand, started for the green. There 
we found many of our neighbors drawn up. We waited a 
while. Soon the red lines of the British appeared. The major, 
Pitcairn, ordered us to disperse. We did not. Then he or- 
dered his men to fire. Eight of our men fell dead. Others were 
wounded. Then we were dispersed. The British went on to 
Concord where our supplies were stored. There they did little 
damage. On their return we fired on them from behind stones 
and fences. We killed and wounded about 300 British. We 
lost 102. I had my head skinned by a bullet. To-night many 
people have gone to Roxbury and Charlestown, shutting the 
British in Boston." 

"May 6. Worked until five o'clock to-day. When I reached 
home I found father reading a letter from an old friend in Ver- 
mont. He is one of the 'Green Mountain Boys.' He wants 
father to join an expedition to capture Ticonderoga, a fort 
containing supplies held by the British. Father started with 
some friends for Rutland to-night. 

"Kenneth Dike." 

"April 18, 1775. War is certainly coming. We cannot 
stand things as they are much longer. The men and boys are 
restless, and the girls wish they might take part in the war. 

"I am writing with a tallow stub beside me. It gives little 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 123 

light. It is very late; but I crept out of bed, when everything 
grew quiet, to write. 

"The British are in Boston and are probably waiting their 
chance to fire on us. They will be surprised at the volley they 
receive in return. 

"We are storing ammunition at towns along the way, but 
the supply is so small in comparison with that of the British 
that . . . 

"April 19, 1775. I am so excited that I can hardly write. 
I might as well tell the story frontwards as backwards, so I 
will begin. I am anxious to reach the end. It is all so inter- 
esting. 

"Just as I reached 'that' in my diary last night, I heard a 
great clatter and noise. I opened my window and listened. 
The noise grew more distinct. I heard the clatter of horse's 
hoofs, but above that ringing clear and true the cry, ' To arms, 
to arms! The British are coming!' Thrills ran through me. 
It seemed as though the time had come to fight at last. The 
sounds of the horse and horseman died away, but other sounds 
rose on the air. The people in all of the houses were stirring. 
Men were getting their muskets and bidding their families 
good-bye. The boys took their muskets and, with proud 
looks, went away with their fathers. 

"Jeannette Leidy." 

The children were required to know about the first battle 
at Lexington and Concord; the invasion by Burgoyne and his 
allies; the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. At the close 
of each chapter was added a bibliography of the books that 
the pupils had consulted and any others that were deemed 
to be of special value in connection with the subject. 

The teacher of art helped us to design and letter the title- 
pagesvof our histories, and by a striking coincidence, nearly 
every pupil, working independently, selected a small picture 
of the Father of his Country for the title-page. 

The composition work in connection with all of this has 
been unusually good and nearly all of the formal English 
lessons have been taken directly from errors in this work. 

Then came the great awakener of all — the Constitutional 
Convention. Here even the dull pupils became genuinely 
enthusiastic. Since we were really to have the Convention, 
each one must take a part and do his share. As we had but 



124 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

twenty pupils in the class, some pupils must represent whole 
States whose delegates took but little part in the discussions. 
The boy who took the part of Washington must study up 
especially on parliamentary rules. 

Taking Madison's Journal as our main guide, and with 
John Fiske's Critical Period of American History and Elliott's 
Debates to help out, we began. As we must do the work in 
six weeks at the longest, we could take up only a few of the 
important discussions. Those in connection with the three 
great compromises were chosen: first, that the upper House 
of Congress be forever composed of an equal number of 
representatives from each of the States, and that the lower 
House be composed of delegates elected from the people of 
each State on the basis of population; second, that in count- 
ing population five slaves be counted as three white men; and 
third, that the importation of slaves be allowed for twenty 
years, or until 1808, and that Congress be allowed to control 
commerce except the taxing of exports, by a simple majority 
of votes. 

The children have been very successful in changing from 
indirect discourse, using the reports of the speeches in Madi- 
son's Journal and The Critical Period, and so have had excel- 
lent practice in another phase of formal English. The great 
outline of the whole each child has had to construct for him- 
self. There follows a short extract from a pupil's notebook : — 

"On Friday, May 25, 1787, the delegates assembled. 

" Temple Franklin: The convention will come to order. 

"Robt. Morris: Mr. Chairman, by the instruction and in 
behalf of the deputation of Pennsylvania, I propose our late 
commander-in-chief, George Washington, Esquire, for presi- 
dent of this convention. 

"John Rutledge: Mr. Chairman, I second the nomination. 
I feel confident that the choice will be unanimous. The pres- 
ence of General Washington prevents observations that 
might otherwise be proper. 

" Temple Franklin: It is moved and seconded that George 
Washington, Esquire, become the president of this convention. 
You will prepare your ballots for George Washington for 
president of the convention. Mr. Morris and Mr. Rutledge 
will act as tellers. 

"Ballots collected and counted. 

"Temple Franklin: I declare General Washington elected 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 125 

president of this convention. Mr. Morris and Mr. Rutledge 
will escort the president to the chair. 

" General Washington: Gentlemen, I thank you for the honor 
you have conferred upon me. I have never been in such a 
situation before or felt so embarrassed. This is a novel scene 
of business in which I am to act. 1 lament my want of better 
qualifications for the office and claim the indulgence of the 
House toward the involuntary errors which my inexperience 
may occasion. This convention is called to consider the revis- 
ing of the Articles of Confederation in order to form a more 
perfect union and a more stable government. Every member 
of this convention should consider the great responsibility 
placed upon him. 

" Col. Hamilton: Mr. President, I nominate Major Jackson 
for Secretary. 

"Mr. Few: Mr. President, I second the nomination. 

"President: It is moved and seconded that Major Jackson 
become our secretary. You will prepare your ballots. Mr. 
Hamilton and Mr. Few will act as tellers." 

Procedure with formal textbook work, with "pages" 
as the object, will be a difficult matter for a teacher or 
for pupils who have come into the spirit of the work in 
the way suggested in the foregoing pages. Problems of 
vital interest will be substituted instead, and this will 
apply to all phases of the history work. 

Motivated work and " page " work. Note two recita- 
tions in lower-grade history which were observed on the 
same day in different country schools, a few years ago. 
They illustrate the difference between mere "page" 
work, and work made vitally significant. They were in 
the third grade and dealt with Hebrew life. In the first, 
the teacher read the story of Jephthah. 1 It was Septem- 
ber 27, and the preceding stories of the book had been 
read since the beginning of school on September 10. 
This story was read by the teacher, commented upon a 

1 Heerman's Stories from the Hebrew, pp. 50-56. 



126 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

little, and the next story indicated as the work for the 
next day. 

In the second recitation the story of Abraham was 
being finished. The pupils knew that he started from Ur, 
that he went north and west to Haran, that he turned 
south into Canaan, that he divided the country with 
Lot, etc. They knew that he was called of God, that he 
was visited by angels, that a son was finally born, that 
a wife was selected for his son in a way to keep the race- 
blood pure, and that a nation was thus fairly started. 
The pupils also knew something about the life lived by 
Abraham, and something about his tents, his servants, 
and his flocks. They had made the acquaintance of one 
Hebrew character, and they knew him. 

All will agree as to the merits of the two recitations. 
Both teachers were beginners, but were high-school grad- 
uates with some normal training. The first teacher made 
the completion of the book his object, unmindful of the 
very obvious fact that the pupils were getting nothing 
from the work. The second teacher made his class of 
third-grade pupils his chief concern. He reviewed, 
added a little, connected the work up in a new form, 
illustrated, made Abraham and his habits the subject of 
busy-work, and in every possible way tried to make 
Abraham live before his pupils. This teacher intended 
to study Moses next, then David, then Jesus, making 
the connections very briefly. These are the four great 
characters in Hebrew history. To make them thor- 
oughly known to third-year pupils is a good year's work 
in a six-months country school. 

Notice another illustration of "page" procedure and 
the effort to substitute something better in a rural 
school. The eighth-grade history work for two months 
was indicated as the period in American history from 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 127 

1789 to 1861. The teacher had taken the number of 
pages (98) and divided by the number of days allotted 
for the work (40), and so was assigning 2| pages each day 
— for the work must be covered, and 98 divided by 40 
was 2 J with only a little margin. The classroom work 
was equally mechanical. The pupils were getting practi- 
cally nothing out of the recitation. History was merely 
pages in a book to be memorized. 

Organizing history around problems. During a dis- 
cussion of this work with the teacher, an effort was made 
to show that such work was almost worthless; that 
history must live objectively as great problems in our 
national life. Finally it was agreed to try to organize 
this period from 1789 to 1861 around three great prob- 
lems, namely, (1) Development of a strong nationality; 
(2) expansion of the national domain; (3) growth of the 
slavery and secession sentiment. The first point, the 
development of strong nationality, is shown by Hamil- 
ton's financial plan, the assumption of the States' debt, 
domestic and foreign, the refunding of the United States 
debt, the law establishing imposts and excises, the 
National Bank, the Government Mint, the suppression 
of the Whiskey Rebellion, the neutrality policy of 
Washington, the Jay Treaty, the defeat of the Tripoli 
pirates, the War of 1812, the protective tariff, the 
Monroe Doctrine, the work of John Marshall on the 
Supreme Bench, the compromises of Clay, the great 
speeches of Webster, etc., etc. The second point, the 
expansion of the national domain, is shown not only by 
Captain Gray's discovery of the mouth of the Columbia 
River, the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark 
Expedition, the Florida Purchase, the annexation of 
Texas, and the acquisition of Oregon, but also by the 
invention of the steamboat, the opening of the Erie 



128 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Canal, the building of the National Road, the invention 
of the telegraph, and the construction of railroads. 
Around the ideas of slavery and secession may be organ- 
ized such facts as the invention of the cotton-gin, the 
prohibition of the slave trade in 1808, the Alien and 
Sedition Laws, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 
the Hartford Convention, Nullification in South Caro- 
lina, the Missouri Compromise, the Mexican War, the 
Wilmot Proviso, the Omnibus Bill, the Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill, the Webster-Hayne debates, the Lincoln-Douglas 
debates, the work of Garrison and other abolitionists, 
Uncle Tom's Cabin, John Brown's raid, the Fugitive 
Slave Law, personal liberty bills, the Knights of the 
Golden Circle, the Cuban filibusters, etc., etc. 

The teacher was gradually led to see that practically 
every important event of this period could be grouped 
about the three great organizing ideas. That she got 
the idea is fairly well indicated by the fact that the 
pupils began almost immediately to "like" history, to 
bring in other texts, and to send to a near-by city library 
for references. Problems had taken the place of pages. 
The work had taken on a new significance. Isolated 
events and dates had been done away with. History 
had been changed from mere memory work into organ- 
ized problem-thinking, and, with proper thoroughness 
and drill, work organized in this manner will be effective. 

"Yes," you say, "that is very well for a little section 
of history, but can you so organize all history work? " 
Most certainly you can so organize any history work 
that is worth doing. If the text contains a topic which 
does not connect itself with some vital problem, omit 
the topic. Why permit the text to be the master? Most 
texts are indifferently organized. The child and the 
subject are your masters; the text is a mere servant. 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 129 

American history easily falls into great problems. 
The following list illustrates the possibility of organizing 
our nation's history around a limited number of vital 
problems : — 

(1) Stumbling upon a continent. 

(2) Trying to get around it. 

(3) Trying to learn something about it. 

(4) Trying to claim and possess it. 

The English effort (Massachusetts and Virginia Col- 
onies), 
The struggle for possession. 

(5) Losing interest in the mother country. 

(6) Why the struggle for independence? 

The struggle. 

(7) What kind of government is needed? 

A convention to determine. 

(8) The national growth. 

Strong central government. 

Territorial growth. 

The problem of slavery and secession. 

(9) The test of free institutions. Will men die for a prin- 

ciple? 

(10) How reconstruct the nation? The five plans. 

(11) Industrial development. Dangers of monopoly. 

(12) How much freedom should be granted corporate 

wealth; how much regulation is necessary? 

The above is suggestive, and shows the possibilities of 
selecting great organizing ideas, great problems. The 
statements of the particular problem will vary with 
classes. The important thing is that the problem be rec- 
ognized as vital. A strong teacher is desirable, but even 
with a weak teacher pupils will get more out of such 
work than they will out of the dead grind of formal page 
procedure. 

It is well to keep in mind that inferior work in history 
teaching is not confined to country schools nor to lower 
grades. The high-school teacher is as a rule the worst 



130 THE MOTIVATION OP SCHOOL WORK 

offender in the matter of formal page procedure. Most 
grade teachers have had normal training and try to 
teach pedagogically. Many high-school (and college) 
teachers know nothing of pedagogy, and scoff at the 
supervisor who tries to assist them. Such a teacher con- 
siders it her duty to assign pages, present the facts, and 
" fail" any pupil who does not remember the necessary 
number of isolated facts to enable him to pass the final 
examination. 

The principal of the State Normal Training School of 
Oxford, Ohio, makes the following brief report of moti- 
vated work in seventh-grade history in review of the 
period of discovery and exploration in American his- 
tory:— 

1. Division of class to represent the different nations, Eng- 
land, Spain, Norway, etc. 

2. These divisions to represent a nation in giving good rea- 
sons for their claims to this country. 

3. One pupil to preside over the class. 

4. Results: spirited debate, well-connected speeches, a good 
review, strong impression made as to possessions of vari- 
ous nations. 

The historic program furnishes a means of making 
history more than the mere committing of facts or 
formal textbook procedure. The children of a sixth 
grade in an Illinois city determined to use their historic 
material for a special program which was divided into 
two parts, the first part consisting of stories of Colum- 
bus, the effect of sailors' stories upon his life, the effect 
Genoa's loss of commercial supremacy had upon his 
life, and his plans for carrying out his ambition. The 
second part consisted of a play in which was reproduced 
Columbus' reception at the Court of Spain after he 
returned from the discovery of the West Indies. The 
necessary music was also developed for this program. 



MOTIVATION OF HISTORY 131 

Another school reports the development of a program 
growing out of their history work for the entertainment 
of the parents of the school. The hour was devoted to 
the presentation of colonial pictures. The following 
pictures were presented: Captain John Smith, the Lead- 
ing Spirit of Jamestown; the Marriage of Pocahontas; 
the Captain of Plymouth; a Puritan Maiden; Miles 
Standish and Canonicus; Puritans going to Church; 
John Alden and Priscilla; William Penn, the Peace- 
maker; and Penn's Treaty with the Indians. The search 
for data with reference to costumes, and the work of 
preparing and arranging these living pictures, soon gave 
satisfaction and pleasure, and a feeling of importance, 
but it also gave as a necessary by-product a larger return 
of facts and information with reference to the period 
covered than an equal amount of time devoted to mere 
textbook work. 

Summary: History work lends itself to motivation 
and vitalization. 

The pupil can be made an actor of history by being 
assigned the part of a historical character in some im- 
portant phase of history work — a member of the Con- 
stitutional Convention, a Separatist in England, or a 
Pilgrim in Holland. This idea may easily be extended 
to advantage. One part of the class may become Lee 
and his staff, while the other part of the class assume 
the leadership of the Northern armies. Your town or 
city may become Athens, while the parts of Sparta 
and other Greek cities are assigned to neighboring cities 
at corresponding distances. The class may assume the 
role of Congress in 1865, and different members of the 
class may urge the various views of Reconstruction. 

History may be further motivated and vitalized 
through the pageant. This cannot be a daily occur- 



132 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

rence. It need not be. Participation in one pageant 
during each year would mean several opportunities 
during a child's school life. If the work is properly done, 
by the pupils, with appropriate costumes, etc., it will 
do wonders in getting the pupil into the spirit of his- 
tory so that it really lives for him. 

But every phase of history work lends itself to prob- 
lem treatment. Procedure by pages is similar to the 
Chinese mode of study. It is Oriental servitude to the 
book. Page assignments are unnecessary. Any topic 
not attaching itself to a problem of vital significance 
should be omitted. The text is servant, not master. 
Make the problems as broad as the advancement of 
the class will permit. It is better to make the class 
realize the importance of a few vital problems even if 
it means the sacrifice of pages. Properly handled it will 
mean the gain of many pages, and in any case a gain in 
truth. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 

What should be learned in geography? Geography as 
a subject in the school curriculum is less than a century 
old. During its career it first developed an extensive 
subject-matter, and then proceeded to give the subject- 
matter a formal scientific organization. The present 
movement in geography is the logical third step in any 
school subject; that is, the reorganization of the subject 
from the standpoint of the child and its adaptation to 
his interests and needs. The formal subject-matter or- 
ganization of geography undertook too much. It under- 
took to give the child a complete encyclopaedic knowl- 
edge of the geography of every country in the world — 
to fill him full of facts — facts of the Gradgrind variety 
— nothing but facts — all of the facts. Only the re- 
sisting power of human nature saved the child from be- 
coming a mere storage house for the collection and pre- 
servation of unrelated facts. 

Why should a child in the sixth grade be compelled to 
commit the names of all of the capes and bays on the 
coast of North America, including location and descrip- 
tion, unless he is planning a trip around the continent in 
a private yacht? Even so, there will be time enough for 
all of this detail after he becomes the owner of the yacht. 
On the other hand, it would be the part of wisdom for a 
teacher in the schools of San Francisco to interest the 
sixth-grade class in the comparative merits of San 
Francisco Bay and Puget Sound — as to which has the 



134 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

better natural advantages as a harbor, and which may be 
expected finally to take, and keep, the lead as a port for 
coastwise and transpacific commerce. This could be made 
a problem of vital significance not only to the children 
of the community, but to the parents as well. Even an 
approach to a solution would involve more knowledge of 
value than would be gained in an equal amount of time 
spent in committing the names of all the bays, capes, 
rivers, mountains, lakes, and cities of the entire conti- 
nent. It will surely follow, however, that in a study of 
the relative merits of San Francisco Bay and Puget 
Sound as harbors all other possible good harbors will 
be studied, actual routes traced, the influence of the 
Panama Canal estimated, and, incidentally, all of the 
important inlets or straits and capes will be mastered. 
There is, however, this vast difference, that they have 
contributed to the solution of a real problem for which 
the child himself has furnished the initial motive. 

A similar problem for a sixth-grade pupil in Mobile 
would be a study of the comparative advantages of 
Mobile and New Orleans for the trade of the Gulf of 
Mexico, South America, and the Panama route. A child 
living in or near New York City would be interested in 
a different set of harbors and bays, and would work out 
a similar problem, if undertaken at all, with reference to 
his particular interest. It may very properly happen, 
however, that in his study of trade routes the possibili- 
ties of San Francisco, Seattle, Mobile, Gulfport, and 
New Orleans as competitors would be considered. In 
fact, they most certainly would be considered, and so 
these harbors would be mastered as a part of the solution 
of a problem, rather than as mere isolated facts. We 
now realize that an exhaustive encyclopaedic knowledge 
is not possible, nor is it desirable* We demand usable 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 135 

knowledge — knowledge that is comprehended and un- 
derstood — knowledge that connects with the interests 
and problems of the child. 

Facts in geography must be secondary. In teaching 
children the only rational aim must be the geography 
method and habit, and that can best be built up through 
the selection of real problems which have a vital con- 
nection with the interests of the child. Where such work 
has been successfully organized, the results are more 
satisfactory, even when tested by the accumulation of 
facts alone. 

The first step, therefore, in any plan for vitalizing and 
motivating the geography work must be the elimina- 
tion of a large part of the work that has always been 
connected with map study and other formal phases of 
geography. The result of this kind of work is well indi- 
cated by an illustration given by Commissioner Claxton. 
He tells of a pupil who came into his office while he was 
superintendent of the city schools at Goldsboro, North 
Carolina. In classifying this pupil the suggestion was 
made that she should carry geography. The pupil indi- 
cated that she had finished the geography. Desiring to 
test her ability, she was asked to locate the Appalachian 
Mountains. She immediately responded, "The Appala- 
chian System is the highlands in the eastern part of the 
United States, extending in a northeasterly and a south- 
westerly direction from Maine to Georgia." Following 
the work further, the pupil was asked if she had ever 
seen any part of the Appalachian System. She imme- 
diately replied that she had not, when as a matter of 
fact she was at that time on the very ridge of the 
Appalachian System. 

The point to this illustration is that the geography 
work has usually been conducted in such a way that the 



138 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

pupil makes no connection between the facts as recorded 
in the book and their objective existence. Pupils read 
about the great round ball which floats in the air, and 
may even go out and look for it, but they never suspect 
that this ball is the earth upon which they constantly 
walk. In fact, we have come to take such a formal atti- 
tude toward the geography work that the majority of 
teachers are satisfied to have pupils read what "the 
book" says and then give it back, parrot fashion. With 
streams and the action of water within easy reach, these 
subjects are studied from the book alone, without any 
reference to the first-hand material. We have had fifty 
years of Cathay. Would not a much shorter cycle of 
work, which leads the child to first-hand material, be of 
more value? This would mean (1) the elimination of 
two thirds of the cities, capes, bays, rivers, and lakes that 
are ordinarily recited upon in map study; (2) the elimi- 
nation of the detailed outline study of one State or one 
continent or one unit after another, until the entire uni- 
verse had been exhausted; (3) in short, it would mean 
the elimination of all subjects which could not be con- 
nected in some vital way with the child's own experience, 
or which could not be thrown into a problem that ap- 
pealed to the child as really worth while — a problem, 
the solution of which would be intensely interesting to 
him. 

Motivating the work. The necessary omissions and 
eliminations having been made, there remains the prob- 
lem of a satisfactory positive program. From the stand- 
point of the child, the chief motives for worth-while 
geography work are : — 

1. Curiosity with reference to the world and its people. 
This may give a general interest in what is happening 
throughout the world, or what the people in other parts 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 137 

of the world are doing, or it may concern itself with the 
satisfaction of interest in important current happenings, 
as the war between Russia and Japan, internal strife in 
Mexico, and the efforts of President Wilson to bring about 
peace, the Balkan war, or the present European war. 

2. The relation of geographical facts to economic values, 
as developed from real problems of the child. 

3. The social value of geographical data, since they furnish 
a basis for the understanding of current happenings, the 
planning of trips and outings, and are constantly in- 
volved in reading and conversation. 

4. The play motive involved in planning grown-up experi- 
ences and likewise in the use of geographical facts in 
games and contests. 

5. The connection of geography with romance and adven- 
ture as needed in books of travel and adventure. 

These separate motives seldom occur singly, but are 
usually combined in any worth-while problem in geog- 
raphy. It will be good method, therefore, to note a 
number of typical motivated undertakings in geog- 
raphy by school pupils, and then turn back upon these 
for analysis of their points of strength and value. 

In a particular city system the third-grade pupils 
became very greatly interested in stories about how 
"grandma" lived. So they undertook to find out, as 
nearly as possible, just how the early residents of their 
particular city lived. In the hands of the skillful teacher, 
this was the best sort of beginning for the study of local 
conditions. It was most valuable for the children to re- 
alize the hardships endured by the early settlers and the 
wonderful progress that had been made in the matter of 
clothing, shelter, and conveniences. In short, the study 
of clothing, shelter, and local industries was preceded 
by a study of the early history of the community. This 
study led to an appreciation of the improvements and 
advantages enjoyed at the present time. In contrast to 



138 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

the present enjoyment of the products of our own as well 
as foreign lands, the possible intercourse between the 
people of all States and all nations and the privilege of 
communication, by wire or by wireless, by cable, and by 
postal service, with all parts of the world, the children 
pictured their grandmothers living in log cabins, amidst 
dense forests, surrounded by undrained swamps, eating 
the simple foods prepared by their own hands, and labor- 
ing with the primitive tools available at that time. This 
picture was filled out fully and compared with condi- 
tions to-day, transformed by natural development and 
by improved means of transportation which make possi- 
ble the enjoyment of the products of all lands, and create 
a world-community interest. The cooperation of the 
entire community was enlisted in making this picture 
complete, and the comparison with present-day condi- 
tions was enlightening. "When I first came to this 
country in March, 1817," said Mr. Smith, "there was 
not a railroad in the United States, nor a canal west of 
the Alleghanies. There was not a foot of gravel road in 
the United States, and plank roads had not been heard 
of." 

Creating a real problem. Under the study of shelter, 
the gradual advance from the log cabin to the present 
splendid homes was noted carefully, and then the work 
and the questions involved in building a house to- 
day were taken up. Where is wood obtained? Where 
was more of it obtained formerly? Why? How was it 
formerly prepared for use in building? How is it now 
prepared? What kind of wood was used for building 
formerly, and at the present time? Notice the rafters 
and joists in a very old house, and compare with the 
sawed yellow pine in a new house. Where do we get the 
yellow pine? What would you see if visiting a lumber 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 139 

camp in Mississippi? Where do we get the red-cedar 
shingles? What was formerly used? In the same way- 
attention was given to other materials, nails, plaster, 
glass, etc. The idea here was to create for the pupils a 
real problem, and to go about solving it in a material 
way without books and without any mere repetition of 
what was stated in the books. The wide-awake teacher 
can imagine with what intense interest the pupils re- 
ported their investigations of a very old house, and can 
realize the gradual growth of appreciation because they 
were permitted to enjoy the benefits of progress and of 
other people's work. 

The study of fuel led to the realization of the fact that 
wood was formerly used as the only fuel; that forests 
were ruthlessly destroyed; that at present there is a 
scarcity of wood; and that prices are high accordingly. 
Coal is now the chief fuel of the community. The effort 
was made to find out about this fuel by visiting coal- 
yards, by making inquiry as to the source of the coal- 
supply, by making an imaginary trip into the coal-fields 
of West Virginia, by going down into a coal-mine, and 
possibly by coming to know some of the fellows who 
worked day after day in mining the coal which was 
burned in their grates and furnaces. Gas as a fuel was 
also of interest to them. There was a local gas company 
in the city. Gas was supplied from wells in a neighboring 
county. Cost and advantages of gas were noted. It was 
found to be commonly used for lighting, for cooking, for 
the bath-heater, and for the grate in the fall and late 
spring. 

In a similar way and as thoroughly as third-grade 
pupils were able to do so, the present method of lighting 
as compared with former methods was studied. The 
pupils were permitted to gather some pine knots, to close 






140 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

the blinds, and to see the kind of light by which their 
forefathers had read. They were helped to make a tallow 
dip, and to test it as a means of lighting a room. Candles 
were brought from home by some of the children, but 
not from homes where they were used as a means of 
lighting. They are at present merely a means of decora- 
tion. Even the oil lamp in the modern city has almost 
disappeared and in many homes is not found at all, or is 
used merely as a makeshift when gas or electricity fails 
temporarily. It is possible for children to realize the 
difference between turning the electric switch and hav- 
ing to go through the hardships of collecting pine knots, 
or of making candles and being compelled to use them as 
a means of lighting. In this particular schoolroom, the 
old candle-moulds were brought and one of them was 
filled. The total result of this work was to give a very 
vivid idea of the change, and a keen appreciation of 
present conveniences. 

The improvement in education was noted in a similar 
way. The advance to the graded schoolroom, with uni- 
form texts and with every economical convenience; the 
advance from the single teacher, responsible for the entire 
program, to the special teachers and supervisors, in fact, 
to a modern system of schools, was observed. 

From local to foreign geography. In all of the work 
upon local conditions and changes involved, opportunity 
was given from time to time to let the needs of the child 
take him to distant regions; from the yellow-pine rafters 
to the forests of Mississippi and Minnesota; from the 
coal-yards to the mines of West Virginia; from the 
grocery store to the sugar plantations of Louisiana; from 
the meat-market to the grazing plains of the West and 
the packing-houses of Kansas City and Chicago; from 
the jewelry store to the silver-mines of Colorado and the 



■ 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 141 

gold-mines of California, on the one hand, and the great 
plants which use the blowers, on the other hand; from 
the furniture factory to the mahogany forests of Central 
America, on the one hand, and to the great markets of 
Chicago and New York, on the other. 

Notice herewith a detail of the study of clothing, in 
the third-grade work in this city. The teacher re- 
ported : — 

In the third-grade geography class we were studying cloth- 
ing. The special subject was cotton clothing. The aim was to 
find out as nearly as possible how cotton is made into cloth. 
The children collected stories and descriptions of Southern 
cotton-fields. They collected pictures and found out ail they 
could from other people. The cotton in the pod was brought 
to the room. We examined it with the seeds. Pictures of 
the cotton-gin were brought, and the children also found out 
about it by talking with older people. We borrowed a partial 
exhibit of the manufacture of cotton from the raw material 
to the cloth, and finally different pieces of cotton cloth were 
brought. 

In another third grade of this same city, iron was 
taken as a detail for particular study. The teacher 
reports it in the following words : — 

The members of the class were told that they would be al- 
lowed to go to the foundry to see work in iron, and the study 
of iron from the text and the making of maps, showing the 
iron-producing regions, had a new interest. At the foundry 
they saw the smelting of pig iron and the various stages of 
the metal to the manufactured machines, some of which we 
found were to be shipped to Long Island, which furnished the 
basis of a lesson on trade routes. 

They were also told that they might make a collection of 
iron, label their specimens, and leave it as a gift to the room. 

It may be objected that, where the children are per- 
mitted to determine more or less the lines of work, 
thoroughness and system will be lacking. Such may be 
the case sometimes. The best procedure for the object- 



142 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

ing teacher is for her to give the pupils an opportunity 
of helping to determine the lines of work, so managing 
that the children are intensely interested in carrying it 
to a successful conclusion, and then to see at the end of 
the year if the total results are not in favor of the scheme 
in which the children helped to determine the lines of 
work. We must always assume a well-prepared, sym- 
pathetic, and sensible teacher in charge of the work. 

In a fifth grade in the Horace Mann School, the 
children were asked to find what kind of flour was used 
in their own homes, and to learn, if possible, where it 
was manufactured. This was the objective start upon a 
study of considerable extent on the food-supply of New 
York City: — 

It might be well to state at the outset that this was not 
an entirely new subject, but one that had been touched in 
various ways from the kindergarten up. Many of the children 
had been on farms at one time or another, and they lived over 
these experiences in our harvest festival when they saw "The 
Farmer's Song" dramatized by the kindergarten, and the 
children of the first four grades play through the process from 
the planting to the harvesting of the grain. While the prepa- 
rations for the festival were going on, a sheaf of wheat was on 
exhibition in the hall and also heads of several varieties of 
the bearded and beardless wheat. The attention of the chil- 
dren was called to these. 

Special study was made of the wheat-growing regions, and 
the children colored maps of the United States showing these 
sections. They became familiar with the names and locations 
of these States so as to find them readily on the maps. 

We made a study of a wheat-farm in North Dakota, using 
chapter xxi in Carpenter's North America as the basis. The 
conditions of growth were noted; then we referred to the 
geographies at hand for further information concerning the 
surface, soil, and climate of these States. 

The wheat was traced from the farm through the various 
milling processes. The Gold Medal exhibit, consisting of a 
case of twenty-four bottles, each containing a sample of wheat 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 143 

in some stage of manufacture, was found very helpful. Roche- 
leau's Great American Industries, and Carpenter were help- 
ful at this point. The previous year the children had visited 
the Hecker factory in this city and had seen some of the 
actual manufacturing processes as well as a grain elevator, 
and the unloading of the wheat-boats which had come through 
the Erie Canal to New York. 

They were interested, too, in making their own collections 
of wheat products; and, under the leadership of one of the 
children, bottles were purchased from a neighboring drug- 
store, and the contributions of flour, feed, starch, and break- 
fast foods were placed in them and labeled. 

Grains of wheat were given the children and they found 
the part out of which bran is made. Then some flour and water 
were mixed together, making a dough. This dough-ball was 
washed in water, leaving a yellowish, elastic substance. This, 
we told the children, was largely the gluten part of the wheat. 
That which was washed out was tested and found to contain 
starch. This experiment was supplemented by the use of a 
Gold Medal chart of a grain of wheat which indicated the 
five bran coats, the gluten, grains of starch, and the germ. 
The children made greatly enlarged drawings of the wheat- 
grain with the help of this chart, and labeled the different 
parts. 

The information gained at home as to the kinds of flour in 
use was the starting-point for locating the chief milling and 
shipping centers. These were later placed on the outline 
maps. The cities selected as most important were: Minne- 
apolis, Duluth, Milwaukee, Buffalo, St. Paul, St. Louis, and 
Portland. 

We next studied the chief shipping routes, special mention 
being made of the three water routes to the Atlantic Coast 
and the advantages of these. Two lessons were given on the 
Great Lakes as a water highway. . Many different folders of 
the railroads were brought to class, and the children were 
asked to look at the accompanying- maps and make a list of 
those roads which could materially help in distributing wheat 
or its products. 

The final disposition of the wheat which is sent to the sea- 
port cities was considered by looking up the great wheat- 
producing countries, and those which do not supply their own 
demand. These cities were also located on the maps. 



144 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

The foregoing illustration is valuable as showing the 
possibility of correlation when the situation is thor- 
oughly motivated. This will be noticed a little later in 
the discussion of correlation. 

Direct correspondence with other regions. The sixth- 
grade work in geography as outlined for American chil- 
dren is commonly the study of the United States and its 
various sections by groups of States. It is interesting to 
note the possibilities of motivating this work so that it 
becomes not merely an accumulation of facts, but Work 
carried on in such a fashion as to give reality; in short, to 
connect it up with worth-while and interesting experi- 
ences of the children. One teacher in a Central Western 
city established correspondence between her children 
and the sixth-grade children of Ashtabula, Ohio. On the 
part of the local children it required them to put in good 
form the interesting facts with reference to their own 
city, its manufacturing interests and its connection with 
the surrounding agricultural community. In return, the 
children were surprised to learn of the immensity of the 
plants of Ashtabula for handling iron ore and the indus- 
tries centering around this, the largest of her industries. 
Ashtabula happens to be in direct line and one of the 
most available ports on the lake for the transfer of ore 
between the iron mines of Minnesota and the coal region 
of Pennsylvania. The exchange of correspondence and 
postal-card illustrations gave the children a vivid im- 
pression of this industry and led them to know one, at 
least, of the important lake ports of northern Ohio. 

Another teacher had her children carry on a corre- 
spondence with the sixth-grade pupils in a very small 
village school in New Mexico. The teacher of this 
school had formerly taught in the schools of the Central 
Western city. The children were therefore interested in 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 145 

knowing about her surroundings and came to have a 
vivid idea of a country without irrigation, the results of 
irrigation, the fine climate, and something about the 
possibilities and the future of the country. 

In still another sixth grade of this system, the question 
of the coal-supply became very important because of a 
strike on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which tem- 
porarily interfered with shipping facilities. The pupils 
became intensely interested through the efforts and 
leadership of a boy in the room whose father was a coal- 
dealer. The teacher asked the superintendent what to 
do about it, and he wisely advised her to follow the lead. 
The result was the gathering of information on coal 
from the Bureau of Statistics at Washington, and even 
through a similar bureau in London. An understanding 
of the coal-supply of the entire world became the am- 
bitious problem of this group of children. The teacher 
wisely guided and directed, and was able to center 
around this problem a study of the needs of different 
regions of the United States, the routes of commerce, the 
increase of the use of coal as a fuel, and in a similar way 
the interdependence of the entire world. 

One class developed a particular interest in the South- 
ern States. The teacher encouraged this interest. Data 
were collected from the railroads, — the Louisville 
and Nashville, and the Southern Railway. Real-estate 
agents were consulted with reference to available lands 
for sale and the good points of climate and soil. Some of 
the children in the class developed a correspondence 
with children in different parts of the South, securing 
cotton-bolls and illustrations of the cotton industry, 
first-hand descriptions of the turpentine industry, and 
similar material with reference to the great iron industry 
in Alabama. This work finally led the class to the prep- 



146 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

aration of a set of materials from which slides could be 
made, the result being that the superintendent had a set 
of more than a hundred slides made, showing the occu- 
pations, industries, and to an extent the scenery, of the 
Southern States. It is surprising how the work on this 
one region illuminated all other regions for the children. 
They had an experience that was real to them. They had 
carried on correspondence. They had collected and or- 
ganized material. They had sought to know, as nearly at 
first hand as possible, that particular region. So when it 
came to a study of some other section of the country, 
their imaginations were keen and alert, and they were 
able to comprehend more quickly and easily the words of 
the book. From the standpoint of economy in mastering 
the work of the grade, this undertaking, which required 
considerably more than the allotted time, more than 
compensated for the extra effort put forth. 

Notice an illustration of how a seventh-grade teacher 
proceeded in getting at the significant problem with 
reference to the study of a foreign country. She reported 
as follows : — 

In the first lesson the pupils were told that they were going 
to begin the study of the country that leads the world in the 
exportation of grain. After some preliminary discussion the 
pupils set to work to find out why Argentina is able to pro- 
duce and export so much grain. In discovering this they nat- 
urally brought in all the geographical elements bearing on 
that subject, such as climate, soil, rivers, cities, people, and 
facilities for shipping. 

Other questions bearing on the subject were also given; 
such as, Why does Argentina have more grain to export than 
the United States? Does the large production of foodstuffs 
in Argentina affect the price of similar goods in our country? 
What country supplies most of Argentina's imports? Why 
does Argentina do so little trading with the United States? 
How may the United States increase her trade with Argen- 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 147 

tina? How do you account for the rapid development of that 
country? 

The imaginary journey. The imaginary journey 
appeals to the play instinct of the child, requires the 
exercise of a vivid imagination, and when wisely used it 
becomes a profitable means of geography study. It 
brings reality into the work, requires definiteness in 
planning, and is quite commendable when not over- 
worked. It turns the memorizing of facts into the enjoy- 
ment of present experiences, develops a sense of distance 
as measured by time or expense, gives familiarity with 
methods and routes of transportation, and develops an 
acquaintance with the facts concerning distant places 
and the customs of their people. One teacher makes the 
following brief report on a European trip which was 
planned at the close of a study which developed from an 
interest in local railways and time-tables : — 

In studying commerce and its aids, the 5A pupils made a 
specialty of railroads and steamships. 

We first procured maps of the various railways and from 
them developed a map showing the principal systems; also 
sent to the Cunard and Hamburg-American Steamship Lines 
for material describing the vessels, cruises, and points of in- 
terest visited; the rate-sheet, etc. 

This was done with the supposition that they were plan- 
ning a trip for the next vacation. 

One of the best of such imaginary journeys, from the 
standpoint of developing appreciation of distances and 
world-wideness, was the aerial trip around the world 
taken by the upper-grade pupils in Topeka, Kansas. 
The Topeka State Journal published a map showing the 
proposed airship route open to all competitors, and 
starting from the grounds of the Panama-Pacific Exposi- 
tion in May, 1915. Prizes aggregating three hundred 
thousand dollars were offered for this race around the 



148 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

world covering a total distance of twenty-two thousand 
miles, and providing for twenty-four official stops. A 
careful reading of several dozens of the children's papers 
shows that they were thoroughly interested in this un- 
dertaking, that they conceived it as an individual experi- 
ence, and that they used the library and all available 
sources to learn about airships, to estimate the distances 
between stops, and to work out the details as to sights 
along the route. Different teachers managed the plan in 
different ways. In some rooms each pupil undertook to 
cover the entire route. In others different individuals 
wrote from particular places, so that when all of the 
letters were combined the person receiving them (usually 
the teacher) would have a good idea of the interesting 
features of the entire route. The following is Elizabeth 
Balch's report of her experiences in New York City: — 

Our machine needed a few repairs, so we left it at one end 
of New York with a machinist. 

We arrived at about eleven o'clock in the morning, so we 
still had some time left before noon. We took a car and rode 
to Fifth Avenue. We got off at the General Post-Office and 
went inside the building. We stayed about fifteen minutes 
and went on to look at the Singer Building. We stayed here 
only a very short time, and then hurried on to the New York 
Times Building. After staying about half an hour we went over 
to Madison Park and ate lunch. 

In the afternoon we went to see the Upper Bay. We watched 
the immigrants arrive at Ellis Island and we saw the beautiful 
Goddess of Liberty. We visited the Aquarium and saw some 
very interesting things. 

We left the Upper Bay and crossed the New East Bridge. 
We then went to the menagerie and looked at the animals. 
The cages of the animals are grouped around a quaint old 
building called the Arsenal. We went to Washington Square 
and went under Washington Square Arch, which is made of 
marble and cost over two hundred fifty thousand dollars. 

In the evening we saw Grant's Tomb which is very beau- 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 149 

tiful and then we went to the highest office building in New 
York which is the Park Row Building. We stayed here a short 
time and then walked up Wall Street toward Trinity Church. 

That night we spent in a small hotel. Next morning we 
went to see the Metropolitan Art Museum and we also saw 
the Obelisk which is called Cleopatra's Needle. We did not 
stay long at either of these places but went to see the City 
Hall. In the City Hall Park we saw a beautiful statue of 
Nathan Hale. 

In the afternoon as our machine was repaired we started 
on our journey again. 

It is evident from the above that the information was 
gathered from books, some of which were not very 
modern ; but when we consider that this was the work of 
a sixth-grade pupil, we must recognize it as an effort 
thoroughly worth while. The usual emphasis in this par- 
ticular type of work is necessarily upon the locational, 
descriptive, and informational phases of geography 
work. This, however, is recognized as having some 
value, and an undertaking such as the aerial trip cer- 
tainly is of great value in giving the child an appreciation 
of the possibilities, through modern invention, of tying 
the entire world closely and quickly together. 

Correlation. "Supply motive in one subject and this 
motive leads to others and a correlation of subjects. 
Isolation is overcome, and history, reading, geography, 
and arithmetic become the means by which real life is 
carried on." 

Geography has been the correlation subject. It has 
been most frequently selected as the correlation center. 
Dr. Frank M. McMurry would organize most of the 
grade work around geography as a center. Dr. C. W. 
Stone, formerly director of the Training School at 
Farmville, Virginia, used geography as a center of inter- 
est in the first four grades. His scheme indicated Home 



150 THE MOTIVATION OP SCHOOL WORK 

Life as the center for first-grade work; Occupations as a 
center for second-grade work; Community Interests as a 
center for third-grade work; Helps from Other Lands and 
Transportation and Life in Other Lands as the center 
for fourth-grade work. 

The more thoroughly the work is motivated, the more 
anxious are the children to make it the center of all lines 
of school effort. This is a perfectly natural and logical 
situation, because, if the children are interested in a 
problem, they naturally bring that problem into all of 
their work. The fifth-grade illustration of geography 
work in the Horace Mann School correlated work in 
cooking, arithmetic, language, and art. Miss Bennett 
says : — 

In these lessons the children prepared cream of wheat and 
white sauce, and baked bread. In connection with the first 
topic they discussed why cream of wheat makes a good food. 
This brought in review the food elements in wheat and opened 
the subject of expense. The cost of a cereal for breakfast was 
put in an arithmetic lesson, and the result compared with the 
cost of meat, fish, and eggs, having the same value in food 
units. . . . The class also used short accounts of the drama- 
tizing, cooking, map-work, and collections, for the news items 
sent to the Speyer School weekly paper. Those whose papers 
were chosen for publication were proud to see their signed 
articles in the ambitious little sheet. After the cooking-lesson 
the recipes were written for future reference. During these 
written exercises the words on which the children needed 
help in spelling were placed on the board. 

Another bit of composition, which also served as a review, 
was an imaginative story of the experiences of a grain of wheat. 
As this would have been a very long piece of work if written 
in full, it was given in outline form — topics and sub-topics. 
These were then used as a guide in oral composition; that is, 
in telling these stories to the class. One of these uncorrected 
outlines is given below: — 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 151 

The Adventures of a Grain of Wheat 

In South Dakota 

Growing 

Being cut 

Threshing 
In a grain elevator 

Being weighed 

Being cleaned 
In a whaleback 
In the factory 

Being ground 

Being put into bags 
Sent to England 

On an ocean liner 
In London 

In a home 

In the oven 

On the table 

There were several opportunities for the class to write 
letters asking for some of the illustrative material. 

The aerial trip arranged in the Topeka schools fur- 
nished exercises along many other lines than merely the 
geography itself. This was particularly true of the lan- 
guage work. The following is a letter from one of the 
children, expressing appreciation for the opportunity of 
doing this type of work : — 

Topeka, Kansas, 
April 6, ink- 
Dear Mr. Wilson : — 

We thank you for what you did for us in the way of the 
circumnavigation of the globe by aircraft. It helped us a 
great deal in our geography. 

We had a map of the world put on the blackboard on a very 
large scale. Each of us made a book about it and discussed 
it in our book. 

We got more out of this study of the world than we would 
get out of several weeks' regular work and beside it was very 
interesting. 

We learned about the people and their habits, which will 
be of great value to us. 



152 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

We learned about the location of places that before we had 
only a vague idea where they were. 

On the whole I think this study of the world has been very 
beneficial to us and I thank you for sending it to us. 
Yours truly, 

Donald Barstow. 



There is no doubt about the sincere appreciation of 
the pupils when they are given an opportunity to do 
work which has interest and motive. One teacher from 
another city, referring to the usual type of work un- 
dertaken in geography, writes : — 

And why is it not really worth while? For the reason that 
there is, especially in higher grades, a lack of motive. Supply 
it! What happens? Pupils see the school is furnishing studies, 
giving experiences which make for efficiency, studies which 
supply a real need, and a clear insight into life and activities 
roundabout. They like school and therefore remain in it 
longer. 

In the sixth grade pupils have been heard to say: 
"This does not seem like school. It is different." "All 
our studies are so interesting." "Why can't we do this 
way all the time?" 

Course of study. The question, "WTiy can't we do 
this way all the time? " naturally leads to the considera- 
tion of a course of study. Teachers agree that the best 
course of study cannot be made by the superintendent 
alone. They must have a part in it. They must con- 
tribute. They must help select the topics and readings, 
and must have an influence in shaping the general plan 
of the course. Every teacher will agree to this. But 
pupils will go a step further, and every wise teacher and 
superintendent should be willing to go with them and 
agree that the children themselves and their interests 
should be factors in determining the course of study. 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 153 

This does not mean that the superintendent and teach- 
ers will not determine in a general way the lines of prog- 
ress, but it does mean that the detailed topics and the 
particular problems should be subject to modification 
in line with the child's interests. Some teachers may 
object that such a procedure will not permit the teacher 
to plan definitely, that it will subject the teacher to the 
whim of the pupils. The superintendents formerly held 
the same view about the teacher's participation, but the 
wise superintendent has now learned that it is much 
better to consult, not so much the whim as the wise 
judgment of the teacher. And in like manner the wise 
teacher will consult the interests of the child, and will 
find no difficulty, if she is a truly wise and capable 
teacher, in guiding those interests into the channels that 
are thoroughly worth while. 

Suggestions for a course of study. In view of the 
above statements it would be unwise to suggest a definite 
course of study, except in the most general terms. Cer- 
tainly a foundation should be laid at some point in the 
lower grades by a study of the local environment. This 
local interest should extend not only to food, clothing, 
and shelter, but also to the institutions, to the means of 
transportation, and to the geographical features of land 
and water. The child should actually observe erosion, 
miniature delta formation, the action of frost, etc. He 
should see in the local stream, if possible, the island, the 
cape, the bay, or, at any rate, he should be made to ap- 
preciate these as nearly at first hand as possible under 
the conditions. It is only in this way that the child can 
build up the necessary perspective and basis for further 
study — that is, for real study — and get away from the 
mechanical memorizing of facts. The importance of a 
knowledge of the community as a basis for the further 



154 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

study of geography is well illustrated and emphasized in 
the Newark Study. This is a work of over two hundred 
pages, dealing with the local geography, civics, and 
sanitation of Newark, New Jersey. It was prepared by 
the assistant superintendent of schools for use in the 
schools. It is made the basis for much of the geography 
work in grades 3A, 4A, and 7A. While, in our opinion, 
an undue amount of emphasis is placed upon local map 
study and locational geography, it is nevertheless signi- 
ficant as showing a proper attention to local environ- 
ment. The 7A section, dealing with Newark as a type of 
the manufacturing and commercial city, shows work of 
an excellent character, work that can be carried forward 
by any wise teacher as a thoroughly motivated under- 
taking. Children are interested in their own city, its 
industries, and the world-contacts growing out of its 
activities. 

A county superintendent in Iowa has organized much 
of his geography work around the corn story and the 
weed booklet. Note a few sections in his outline for the 
corn story: — 

II. The Corn Belt 

1. Sketch a map showing in what States corn is 
raised. Shade the different States to show where 
the most corn is raised. 

III. Uses of corn 

1. Its use as a food for both man and beast. 

2. Different articles made partially or wholly from 
corn. 

IV. Production 

1. Amount raised in Iowa and in the United States 
annually. 

2. Average yield per acre in Iowa. 

Average yield per acre in Pocahontas County. 

3. How the value of Iowa's corn crop compares with 
her other resouroes. 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 155 

4. How its production has been and may be in- 
creased by the testing of the seed, improved cul- 
tivation, etc. 

This work is planned for the upper grades, and shows 
a gradual widening from the local community to the 
study of the nation. It shows a good type, not only of 
geography work, but of correlation with other work, as 
it is intended that work in language, drawing, penman- 
ship, spelling, and numbers shall be directly connected 
with the corn story and the other work planned. 

Following the work upon local geography, it seems 
wise to give a brief world-wide view. Such a view may 
be easily accomplished through the use of such a text as 
Chamberlain's How We Are Clothed. This plan requires 
a minimum of locational geography, puts the emphasis 
upon the economic and industrial phases of the work, 
and tends to give a quick, interesting, and sympathetic 
view of people throughout the entire world. 

The next step should doubtless be a more intensive 
study of the United States, with enough emphasis upon 
some particular region to make it stand out vividly and 
to enable it to serve as a basis for the understanding of 
other regions studied in less detail. The final work will 
be the study of foreign countries, the time being divided 
in proportion to our interest in those countries as indi- 
cated by our exchange of products with them. This will 
mean the attack of each country as a problem, centering 
the study upon our chief interest in the country from 
the standpoint of competition or as a source of needed 
supplies. 

This plan for a course of study does not attempt any 
systematic encyclopaedic mastery of the facts of the 
world. Such mastery is not possible. We prefer to agree 
with Dr. Eliot in his discussion of the cultivated man, 



156 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

that "Culture can no longer imply a knowledge of every- 
thing, not even a little knowledge of everything. It must 
be content with general knowledge of some things, and 
a real mastery of some small portion of the human 
store/ ' This is a profound modification of the idea of 
culture which formerly prevailed, and we accept it as 
a good working basis for the formation of a course of 
study in geography. Let the child's interest determine 
in large measure the topics selected. Study large, signi- 
ficant problems growing out of his interest; handle this 
interest in such a way as to give him the geography 
method and habit; and expect with assurance that in the 
final returns he will be further along, even from the 
standpoint of facts, than will the child who was guided 
by a teacher with the old notion that the business of 
geography is a mastery of all the facts. 

Summary. Analyzing our discussion of the geography 
work and referring it again to the question of motives, 
it is apparent that the strongest incentive to the child is 
to have a problem of real worth that has grown out of 
his own interests. Curiosity will help, will often carry 
the child forward when once started, and will lead to a 
search for new and interesting data. The social value 
may occasionally be large, and it would be much more 
significant if the parents were educated to cooperation, 
and could give the child an opportunity at home to use 
his information for the benefit of the entire family circle. 
This value should grow in importance and should extend 
beyond mere class leadership. The need of geography as 
a basis for understanding romance and adventure; books 
of travel or history and literature should be a strong 
motive in any well-articulated school program. This de- 
pends largely upon the wisdom of the teacher, or the 
wisdom and cooperation of the teachers when there are 
several teachers working with the same children. 



MOTIVATION OF GEOGRAPHY 157 

The play motive may certainly be made much stronger 
than it is commonly. Well-selected games will help 
much. The best help, however, is a sane, wholesome 
teacher with enough life and personality to make the 
most difficult task assume the aspect of play. Such a 
teacher is a constant joy. She will carry the spirit of play 
into all phases of the work. John will become the real- 
estate agent from Florida trying to sell an orange grove 
to one of his classmates. Mary will take an aerial trip 
around the world with her uncle. William will organize 
a steamship company and will make no end of effort to 
be fully informed before finally selecting his terminals 
and his routes. In short, the play motive supported by 
an interest in the solution of a real problem will carry 
any child successfully through the most difficult tasks in 
his geography work. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 

The demand for practical arithmetic. The arithmetic 
work lends itself admirably to the disciplinary doctrine, 
but there has been a growing demand that work in arith- 
metic shall be practical, and that it shall appeal to the 
child through the proper regard for motives in the selec- 
tion of subject-matter. This has resulted, on the whole, 
in the elimination of much of the arithmetic work which 
was formerly considered necessary, and it will be worth 
while, before concluding this discussion, to introduce in 
detail the eliminations which are now more or less fully 
agreed upon. It will be well, however, first to enter into 
an analysis and discussion of the proper motivation of 
the arithmetic work. 

In the first place the work in arithmetic is adapted 
most admirably, possibly better than any other subject, 
to competition and the possibilities of measurable suc- 
cess. Competition has in former years been the strongest 
motive of the subject. Throughout the lower grades 
this, in itself, has been a sufficient impetus to cause the 
child to endure the necessary drill and drudgery to secure 
proficiency. The arithmetic work in its last analysis is 
simple and easily systematized, making it possible for a 
competent teacher to keep pupils constantly succeeding 
and advancing, without discouragement. In this type of 
work, however, it is possible to introduce situations 
which will motivate even the drill work. 

Miss Steele, of the Horace Mann School, asked her 
third-grade pupils to collect the election returns and 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 159 

present them on a certain Wednesday morning. Her 
object was to give a thorough drill and review in the 
reading of numbers. The pupils were so interested in the 
returns that none came to class without plenty of data on 
hand, and few without facts showing the successes of his 
own particular party. A group who observed the teach- 
ing of this lesson were one and all convinced that no 
problem could have been set which would have more 
fully covered the ground of a thoroughgoing review in 
the reading of numbers. But the formal object of the 
lesson was included in a larger interest, with the result 
that a well-conceived problem was devised with the 
necessary motive for work. 

Correlation with other subjects. A second source of 
motivation in the arithmetic work is found in its prac- 
tical applications to other school work. The boys in the 
manual-training class must necessarily measure lum- 
ber, compute sizes, and secure results that are accurate 
to a high degree. Without the necessary knowledge of 
arithmetic, including fractions, no boy can carry on his 
work in manual training successfully. It is not an un- 
usual experience for a teacher to find a boy whose chief 
interest is in manual training, but whose preparation 
along other lines is not strong enough to carry him for- 
ward in his line of interest. 

A typical case of this kind was disposed of by asking 
the manual-training teacher to accept the boy as a 
special student, allowing him to do anything that ap- 
pealed to him. The result was a speedy realization of 
the fact that, in order to accomplish his desires, he must 
be prepared to read and properly interpret the plans. 
This emphasized directly his lack of proficiency in read- 
ing and understanding the English language. He soon 
realized, also, that to make progress in his work he would 



160 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

need additional knowledge of arithmetic, including 
fractions, decimals, and square root, and at least an ele- 
mentary working knowledge of geometry. After a few 
weeks the boy, in order to get these things, begged to be 
permitted to enter the regular classes, and asked to 
make up the work which he had missed, in order to be- 
come regular in his classes. 

The work in domestic science is constantly requiring 
the use of arithmetic. There is need of the accurate 
weighing and measuring of materials which requires 
knowledge of the tables of weights and measures; articles 
must be purchased and the cost definitely figured; mix- 
tures must be made in the right proportion, garments 
must be measured and cut, and there must be withal a 
system of accounts to enable the youthful housewife to 
know what different things are costing. 

The work in agriculture is furnishing a new line of 
practical problems in school work. Among these we find 
the problems of measuring land; of measuring corn, 
wheat, or oats in the bin; of measuring hay in the stack 
or in the mow; of estimating the cost of lumber for a 
fence or a barn; of figuring percentages of gain due to a 
particular treatment, such as spraying the fruit trees or 
the potatoes; of figuring rations for horses and cattle, 
and the profits in handling sheep, hogs, or cattle. There 
is necessity of testing the dairy herd by regularly weigh- 
ing and testing the milk. There is also the necessity of a 
careful system of farm accounts by means of which a 
farmer may know whether he is gaining or losing in his 
enterprise. 

Several lines of the agriculture work are carried on in 
towns and cities without a school farm. The school 
garden is always a possibility on a vacant lot near the 
school. These gardens will provide all the problems 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 161 

necessary. First comes the division of the ground for the 
different children and for the different flowers and vege- 
tables; then comes the buying of plants and seeds; and 
finally, the sale of products and computation of profits. 
It is sometimes possible for the children to carry forward 
individual projects relating to work, such as taking care 
of a pen of chickens, which requires an accurate account 
of the cost of feed and of the returns from the flock, as 
well as an item giving credit for necessary labor. 

The children attending the model school connected 
with the summer session of an agricultural college 
secured a great deal of number material from an excur- 
sion to the dairy farm. They became interested in the 
cost of feeding the herd; the length of time the silage on 
hand (240 tons) would feed the animals; the amount of 
milk secured in a week; the amount realized from the sale 
of milk, cream, and butter; and a comparative study of 
the expense and income from an individual cow. All of 
these became problems of great interest to the class, and, 
fortunately, it was possible to secure the necessary data 
to answer the questions involved. 

The work in history and geography may be made the 
basis of arithmetic work in a way which is thoroughly 
worth while, providing the pupil's arithmetical ability is 
used in interpreting the facts in history and geography 
in an interesting manner. It sometimes happens, how- 
ever, that a teacher will drag into the arithmetic work 
unrelated material from history or geography that 
would much better be omitted entirely. This is simply a 
case requiring judgment. A teacher should studiously 
avoid the mechanical and uninteresting way of using 
such material as the statistics of population and produc- 
tion. It were better to omit the connection entirely than 
to drag in unrelated material. 



162 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

There are numbers of games in which success largely 
depends upon the knowledge of a small amount of arith- 
metic. It is surprising what an effort children will put 
forth to master the amount of knowledge required to win 
in a game. There is no reason why the school should not 
utilize this situation and make success in well-selected 
games a motive for mastering the work in arithmetic. 
Such a game as dominoes gives pupils marked ability in 
adding and subtracting. No one should object to this 
game in the schoolroom. Dr. David Eugene Smith has 
given us a large collection of usable games. The following 
are suggested as some of the simpler ones which may be 
used in any school: changing places; modified form of 
Simon says thumbs up; odd and even; fireman; hod- 
carrier; bean-bag; ring-toss; cave man; boy scout; arrow 
practice; tenpins; tumble in, and spin top. These games 
involve counting, reading of numbers, adding, subtract- 
ing, multiplying, dividing, measuring, and other proc- 
esses that should finally become automatic with the 
pupil. There is no reason, therefore, why they should 
not be used over and over again, nor why they should 
not be utilized as a means of creating greater interest 
and enthusiasm among the pupils. 

The appeal based upon play and games is particularly 
valuable in the lower grades, and yet there is no reason 
why it should not be carried into the upper grades. An 
upper-grade motive more or less corresponding in in- 
tensity and usability is the value of arithmetic work to 
the pupil himself at home, in the store, on the farm, in 
keeping his own accounts or in carrying forward a busi- 
ness enterprise of his own, such as managing a paper 
route, caring for a pen of pigs as an individual enterprise, 
or caring for the family garden on a business basis. The 
farm boy will have additional opportunities. He will 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 163 

occasionally have an opportunity of taking over five 
acres of corn or a certain number of shoats or some 
calves. He should be encouraged to keep strict account of 
undertakings of this kind so that he may know some- 
thing as to the cost of labor involved and the final profits. 
In these business enterprises the personal element enters 
quite strongly, and the boys and girls who are earning 
money for themselves are really quite interested in mas- 
tering fundamental processes to the extent of their 
needs. 

A fifth means of motivating work in arithmetic is the 
imaginary problem. Many teachers object to imaginary 
or made-up problems, insisting that all of them shall 
be real in that they actually occur. Dr. Suzzallo calls 
attention to this situation in the following words : " The 
psychological fact that needs to be forced upon the 
attention of reformers is that, with proper artfulness, an 
artificial problem may be even more vital and real to 
the child than one taken from life." This does not 
mean that the use of actual social material is to be dis- 
couraged. It simply means that a problem may be 
conceived which will meet all of the conditions, provide 
a wider range of opportunity, and permit a more organic 
development of the subject than is possible where the 
teacher must wait for actual cases to develop. 

The discussion of this point need not be carried fur- 
ther here, but it will later be linked with a discussion 
of the organic motivation of the entire course of study. 
A teacher is further warned, however, in the words of 
Dr. Suzzallo, that if these problems actually occur among 
the grocers, the bankers, or the wholesalers, and in this 
sense are indeed concrete, "y e t much useless effort may 
be expended in carrying these current problems into the 
classroom, in spite of the fact that they may be entirely 



164 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

comprehensible and interesting to the pupil." It is after 
all, therefore, a matter of good judgment, and this the 
teacher must use in all of her efforts to utilize the child's 
life in its quantitative aspects, to take his play and 
games, occupations and experiences into the schoolroom 
for the development of mathematical ability. 

Any attempt to give the course of study organic moti- 
vation should keep in mind the necessity of adequate 
results at the end of a definite period. The teacher who 
begins the arithmetic work with the notion that there 
should be no drill, and that arithmetical processes will 
be employed only when the pupil has an individual 
problem demanding solution, has entered the realm of 
the impractical theorist. And yet courses of study in 
arithmetic have been attempted on this basis, the arith- 
metic work being made subordinate to shopwork, in- 
dustrial training, and practical problems that arise in 
connection with this work. According to this notion, if a 
boy needs to figure a pattern he will take his arithmetic 
and hunt for the part that will serve him at that time. 
If a girl needs 3| yards of dress goods and must pay V&\ 
cents a yard for it, she will take her arithmetic, look up 
fractions, and is not permitted to continue work on her 
dress until she has mastered the problem in arithmetic. 

Unless she is unusually strong, the teacher who pro- 
ceeds according to this plan will fail utterly to get an 
organization of the subject-matter of arithmetic^ she 
will fail to get speed and accuracy in using the simple 
processes, and she will have entirely lost the unity of the 
subject. Except with the teacher of extraordinary skill 
and patience, the results will not be at all commensu- 
rate with the amount of effort expended. However, the 
plan had value in modifying teaching methods. The 
effort to develop courses of study from this standpoint 






MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 165 

supplied a motive very much needed by the teacher. The 
work in arithmetic had become so formal and so fully 
organized from the disciplinary standpoint that an over- 
dose of some kind was necessary. Skillful teachers will 
get results under any conditions, but the attempt made 
by the average teacher to subordinate arithmetic to 
other subjects will certainly result in giving insufficient 
returns. It is conceded to be no longer necessary to resort 
to such extreme methods in order to safeguard the inter- 
ests of the child. 

The arithmetic work can be thoroughly motivated 
without destroying the unity of the subject, without 
sacrificing it to other subjects that are possibly not any 
more important than it is. Certainly any plan of moti- 
vation should retain the drill which is necessary if auto- 
matic results are to be secured. And it should not hinder 
or hamper the teacher in securing the speed and accuracy 
which will make the arithmetic work of practical utility 
when actual problems are met with after the pupil leaves 
school. This is what is meant by an organic motivation 
of the arithmetic course. Note an illustration in what 
the teachers of one city system did. They believe that 
they have accomplished the result with a minimum of 
effort, and the work is thoroughly motivated. Pupils 
were given problems which to them were real and vital. 
Their interest in the subject was retained at the maxi- 
mum, and at the end of the course they had the neces- 
sary speed and accuracy, and this has been secured with- 
out neglecting other subjects and without putting undue 
time and stress upon the study of the arithmetic work. 

Buying a lot and building a house. The illustration 
follows. The work assigned to the eighth grade involved 
the borrowing, loaning, and investing of money, banking 
and business practice, square root, and mensuration. 



166 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

These lines were pursued vigorously for four days out of 
each week. On the fifth day a special problem, large 
enough to continue throughout the term, and directly 
related to the class work being pursued, was taken up 
by the class. This problem varied from time to time, 
but for purposes of illustration the work of buying a lot 
and building a house is given. Each pupil in the class 
was expected to select a vacant lot in some part of the 
city, ascertain the price of the same, and proceed to buy 
it. Each pupil in the room, or each group of pupils, was 
given certain limitations. For instance, each pupil in 
Group I was supposed to be twenty-four years old, to be 
paying fifteen dollars a month rent, to be receiving a sal- 
ary of fifty dollars a month, and to have one thousand 
dollars in cash on hand. In buying his lot the pupil was 
required to pay cash, so that a pupil in Group I was com- 
pelled to buy a lot not exceeding one thousand dollars 
in value. Having located his lot and ascertained the 
price, he secured a legal description, made inquiries as 
to delinquent taxes and assessments, and finally bought 
the lot. Deeds were brought into class. Titles were con- 
sidered. Deeds were recorded and entered for taxation. 
Having secured the lot, the pupil began to consider a 
plan for building. This involved a number of problems. 
The class considered the cost and advantages of different 
systems of lighting — lamps, gas, and electricity. They 
considered different plans of heating — stove, warm-air 
furnace, and hot water. They figured the expense of the 
bath. Almost without exception pupils decided to have 
modern conveniences, including electricity and a self- 
ventilating system of heating. Each pupil was required 
to draw and submit a plan of a house, together with an 
estimate of the cost of building the same. The regular 
day for this work was Wednesday. It was most com- 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 167 

mon to hear pupils say, "Oh! I wish Wednesday would 
come." There was no lack of interest and the instruction 
was the equal of that in any other line. 

As no pupil had enough money with which to build a 
house, it became necessary for him to borrow. In study- 
ing the question of borrowing money, the different 
groups were instructed to make inquiry, some of banks, 
some of building and loan associations, and some of pri- 
vate parties. After the report was made, each pupil was 
required to make arrangements for the necessary money 
to complete the building of his house. In securing the 
loan the property was mortgaged. Mortgage papers 
were brought to class and explained. Each pupil was 
required to show that his income was sufficient to pay 
the interest on his loan, provide for his family, and make 
some payment each year toward reducing the principal. 

As soon as the construction of the house began, it 
was necessary to secure a fire-insurance policy. This 
involved a study of property insurance. The amount 
wanted was determined, the rate ascertained, and the 
premium computed. 

Since the pupil had gone into debt, he was urged to 
protect his family by taking out life insurance. The 
amount was left to each pupil, but in no case was it less 
than the amount of his indebtedness. This insured that, 
in case of his death, his family would have the property 
free from debt. The different groups were assigned to 
investigate different companies. Reports were made on 
the New York Life, the Mutual Life of New York, 
and the Equitable. Only the simpler forms of policies 
were considered — the ordinary life, the twenty-payment 
life, and the twenty-year endowment. Most pupils took 
policies under the twenty-payment life plan. Although 
this work was necessarily made simple, there is no doubt 



168 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

that the pupils appreciated the significance of life insur- 
ance both as a protection and as an investment. The 
completion of the house and the consequent moving in 
brought this line of work to a successful conclusion. 

The teacher who has been handling this work gives 
abundant testimony to the fact that these problems, as 
taken up from time to time in the eighth grade, have 
been real and vital to the pupils. The pupil appreciates 
his situation. He is the man of the house. He has a 
family to support. He is building a home for himself 
and family. The home is planned very carefully. The 
house plans submitted have been a credit to the pupils. 
With scarcely an exception each pupil is very much in- 
terested in his plan. He wants so many rooms. He wants 
closets in certain places. He is interested in his neigh- 
bors. In brief, he becomes, for the time being, a citizen 
of the community, and as interested as any other citizen. 
There is little doubt in the minds of any one but that 
this work will carry over into later life with as much 
force as any other line of school work. Why should it 
not do so? It is real and vital to the pupil. When a 
pupil reaches maturity, he will certainly be influenced 
by the experience, and will more nearly act the citizen's 
part in the matter of providing a modern home for his 
family. 

There are several interesting things about this work: 
First, the one day each week for four and one half months 
is ample time to cover the work very thoroughly. Sec- 
ond, this one day of each week upon practical problems 
has a wonderful reflex influence upon the regular rou- 
tine and drill work of the other four days. Tests indicate 
that there has been steady improvement in the arithme- 
tic work during the last three years, and that this im- 
provement has been due not to more time spent upon 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 169 

the work, but to greater interest on the part of the 
pupils; to better teaching, resulting from the attempt 
to motivate the work thoroughly and to adapt it to the 
community; to the fact that obsolete material has beer? 
eliminated from the work; to the fact that the drill work 
has been thoroughly systematized; and finally, to the 
automatic memory results secured in the mechanical 
phases of the work. 

It will be seen from the above discussion that both the 
unity of the subject and systematic drill have been re- 
tained, and that, in fact, four fifths of the time is spent 
about as formerly. The other one fifth of the time is 
given to the specially motivated work, and it is left to the 
enthusiasm and skill of the teacher to see that the work 
of this one day thoroughly motivates the work of the 
five days. 

Furnishing a six-room house. Note a second illus- 
tration of motivating the arithmetic work according to 
the above plan. In the sixth grade, a problem that has 
been successfully handled is that of furnishing a six- 
room house. The problem, as usually set, has been to 
furnish a house consisting of living-room, library, dining- 
room, kitchen, and two bedrooms, for a family of moder- 
ate means. The class then proceeds, taking one room at 
a time and furnishing it completely. If the dining-room 
is the problem for the next week, pupils will be expected 
to make inquiry as to the prices of dining-room chairs, 
dining-table, sideboard, buffet, etc. It is possible also 
that the carpeting of the dining-room and the blinds 
and curtains for the same would be included in the as- 
signment. The better plan of handling questions like 
this, however, is to carpet the entire house as one as- 
signment, and to buy blinds and curtains for the house 
as another assignment, the conclusions from these 



170 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

general assignments being subject to modification in 
case later study should develop a different color scheme 
or a different plan for any particular room. At the time 
of the recitation upon the particular assignment, the 
facts as collected upon the different articles are pre- 
sented, discussed, and the particular articles to be pur- 
chased, with prices, are agreed upon. These are carefully 
noted so as to be available for the final summary after 
the entire house has been worked over in this way. 

This problem has been found well adapted to the 
sixth-grade pupils. It is not too difficult, it furnishes a 
great deal of variety, it appeals to the interest of the 
pupils, and it gives them opportunity to exercise judg- 
ment and discretion in the expenditure of money. 

The point to be emphasized in connection with these 
illustrations is that they involve problems large enough 
to carry through a considerable period of time such as 
an entire half-year's work. In the same way some defi- 
nite problem is selected for each grade, as, for instance, 
the following : — 

Second Grade — Buying groceries and kitchen provisions. 
Third Grade — Clothing, wearing apparel, dry goods. 
Fourth Grade — Farm products, marketing, profits, etc. 
Fifth Grade — Household furnishings. 
Sixth Grade — Simple accounts; home expenditures. 
Seventh Grade — Banking, business methods, saving, loan- 
ing, and investing money. 
Eight B Grade — Investment in farm or residence property. 
Eight A Grade — Figuring profits in different businesses. 

The above plan avoids duplication, and gives each 
teacher an opportunity for a wide range of selection of 
some undertaking involving the particular material. 

Organizing a stock company. A problem actually used 
and carried through a half-year in another school system 
was that of organizing a stock company to promote a 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 171 

public enterprise much needed in the city. In begin- 
ning this work, the class appointed a committee to 
gather information from one of the factories in the city. 
The factory selected was a large furniture factory, 
chosen because of the extent of its business, the fact that 
it was successful, and the fact that to outward appear- 
ance it had a good organization. 

The committee appointed by the class secured an 
interview with the president of the company. They met 
him by appointment, and spent half a day going into the 
details of his business. They had a definite plan for 
securing the information which they desired. The report 
as given to the class included the information thus se- 
cured and gave every evidence of being reasonably 
accurate. The items given were as follows: — 

Sales for last year $425,000 

Expenses for last year: — 

Light, heat, and power $7,000 

Insurance 2,500 

Pay-roll (38% of total) 145,000 

Advertising 3,500 

Transportation 10,000 

Losses (|% of total) 2,000 

Taxes 2,000 

Raw materials (44% of total) 170,000 

Incidentals 12,000 

Depreciation 10,000 

6% interest on capital of $310,000 18,600 $382,600 

Profit $42,400 

This contact of school pupils with business men was a 
new experience and proved fully as enjoyable as it was 
helpful. The pupils were surprised to discover that such 
a large proportion of the expense — thirty-eight per cent 
— was paid out as wages to the workmen, and that this 
item and raw materials together constituted over eighty 



172 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

per cent of the total expense. They were interested in 
figuring the per cent that each item of expense was of the 
total. They were surprised that the losses were so small, 
and that the profit was less than ten per cent on the 
total sales. The class decided, however, that they would 
be fully satisfied with a ten per cent net profit on the 
output of the factory which they proposed to organize. 
The three members composing this committee were 
constantly appealed to for further information as the 
class proceeded with the work of organizing the Twenti- 
eth Century Cement Mixer Company. Such a company 
was being organized in the city, and a second committee 
was appointed to study in detail the plans of the organ- 
izers. They reported in a similar fashion to the class. 
When the class thought that they were prepared, they 
proceeded to organize their own company, determine 
the amount of common and preferred stock, and the 
amount of bonds to be issued. It may be interesting to 
note in this connection that the teacher having charge 
of the class gave some of the usual problems in stocks 
and bonds just preceding the beginning of this study. 
The class, as is experienced everywhere, were unable to 
comprehend the work or to take an interest in it. The 
work was purely mechanical and little understood. After 
the work in organizing this company had proceeded for 
some time, after the bonds and preferred and common 
stock had been sold, some of it at par, some above, and 
some below, after stock certificates had been designed 
by members of the class as a part of their work, then 
this teacher came back to the problems in stocks and 
bonds, as they appeared in the arithmetic. The differ- 
ence in the attitude of the pupils and in their compre- 
hension of the work was not surprising. It was to be 
expected. And yet it was the difference between dark- 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 173 

ness and light. They now understood what it meant to 
invest in a four per cent bond at 83, and they were 
prepared to figure the income. 

At another time the class in this room took up the 
organization of a street-railway company for the city in 
a similar way, the work being carried forward one day 
each week throughout the semester. 

Occupational studies. Another teacher reports the 
use of the choosing of an occupation, or figuring pro- 
fits in different lines of business, as a problem giving or- 
ganic motivation to arithmetic work for half a year in 
the eighth grade. 

The purpose of this line of applied work was to give 
each pupil an idea of the possibilities and the difficulties 
in different lines of business, in order that he might, 
perhaps, use the knowledge in the future as a guide in 
choosing an occupation. Many business failures are due, 
no doubt, to the fact that so many men take up a line 
of business about which they are not informed and for 
which they are not prepared or adapted. It has been 
estimated that at least ninety per cent of the business 
undertakings in this country end in failure. During the 
year 1908, Bradstreet's reported 15,066 business failures 
in the United States, with total liabilities of $296,298,- 
200. Discussing these failures, Bradstreet's presented 
an interesting study of the causes of failure. This year, 
as formerly, investigations proved that "tendencies 
present within the individual himself are largely respon- 
sible for four fifths of all business failures, and only one 
fifth are due to extraneous conditions over which the 
individual has little, if any, control." 

Bradstreet's named eight leading specific causes for 
failures that are due to the individuals themselves and 
three which are due to extraneous circumstances. The 



174 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

eight are: incompetency, inexperience, lack of capital, 
unwise granting of credit, outside speculation, neglect of 
business, personal extravagance, fraudulent disposition of 
property. The three causes due to conditions outside the 
individual are specific conditions, failure of others, and 
competition. Among the comments made by Bradstreet's 
appears the following : — ■ 

In 1908 the eight factors first mentioned caused 77.5 per 
cent of all the failures, as against 81.1 per cent in 1907, and 
79.7 per cent in 1906. The three influences beyond individual 
control accounted for 22.5 per cent of all the failures as 
against 18.9 per cent in 1907 and 20.3 per cent in 1906. 

These figures show that the causes of business failure 
do not vary much from year to year. 

The idea of occupational study having been worked 
out in general, the details were left to be developed by 
the class and were entirely satisfactory. A difficulty 
encountered was the reluctance of merchants to impart 
information, since they regarded many facts of their busi- 
ness as trade secrets. This point was difficult to manage 
and required a high type of tact and diplomacy. The 
merchants were finally convinced that they could do 
much to help the pupils and make the school work vital, 
and that no merchant would suffer in the least even if 
he gave the benefit of all of his trade secrets. 

Following out their plan, the class studied the busi- 
ness of the grocer, butcher, hardware dealer, druggist, 
jeweler, plumber, lawyer, doctor, teacher, preacher, 
farmer, laborer, dry-goods merchant, clothier, shoe 
dealer, and furniture dealer. They asked for facts con- 
cerning the amount invested, operating expenses, losses, 
profits expected, sales per day, rapidity of change of 
stock, and general observations or advice to those con- 
sidering such a line of business as an occupation. 




to w © pi to ** Cl CO _co p 

b b b "o b o b o © © 



s s 



M»m* 



to eo to 

►J- o *• 
o o o 



o o o o ci 



Cl 



CO Cl OS o 



H* Or -3 o tO © 



ci ci © © 



o oo © oo © © en 



§ S8 a § 

© Cl to go © 



o o o © o 



Stock, and educa- 
tion 



Rent 



Heat 



Light 



Ice 



Insxirance 



Pay-roll 



Advertising 



Delivery 



8 : 



>** © © © I-* © i-» 

en © © © © © © 



Losses, breakage, 
waste, etc. 



© tO Cl -.1 l-» © 

© © © Ci © to 



i>ac? sales 



Ci Cl 



m © © © © 



Drayage, express 



Conventions, 
books, etc. 



Telephone 



CO CO W Or 

© © © © 



to to to ^ 

Cl 10 O O CO Cl Cl 

o o © © © © o 



Incidentals 



d © © © 



Taxes 



CO M CO CO 00 tO 

- o ci ^j ci t» oi 



© © GO © 



© to o © © © 



©©©©©©©©© 



Total expenses 



Sales per year 



Per cent 2^rofits 
expected. 



Per cent profits 
{net) 



Op. expenses to 
earnings or sales 
(per cent) 



176 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

The pupils were asked a week in advance to secure the 
material for the needed report. Volunteers were first 
called for because some pupils had unusual opportunities 
for securing data in a particular profession, or occupa- 
tion. At least three pupils were asked to give reports in 
tabular form on each occupation, so that the results 
might represent an intelligent average. 

The accompanying tabulated results shown on page 
175 were finally secured. 

This work brought to the pupils' attention facts 
which had hitherto been unnoticed, namely, the enor- 
mous pay-roll of the butcher, clothier, druggist, mer- 
chant, grocer, and plumber; the unavoidable losses of 
the clothier and merchant because of styles and of the 
farmer because of lack of marketing facilities; the 
alluring profits of each; and the underlying business 
principles common to all. 

It is interesting to note how the work will vary from 
time to time, and how the pupils contributing will sug- 
gest different lines or different situations for carrying it 
forward. Different teachers have used successfully 
different plans for motivating their work. A certain 
teacher in the practice school used the following scheme 
during a recent summer session: — 

The children of the fifth grade undertook the problems of 
clothing Mr. Jones's son and daughter; of furnishing staple 
groceries for his family; and of estimating the saving made 
by having their own vegetables and fruit. Required amounts 
were obtained from "mother," and prices from the grocer. 
Bills were rendered and receipted. 

The sixth grade drew plans for Mr. Jones's six-room house 
and furnished it. They kept an accurate account of his income 
and expenditures and at the close of the work balanced it. 

The seventh grade undertook the building of the house, 
paying of insurance and taxes and the borrowing of the neces- 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 177 

sary money. Mr. Jones's check was given in the former case 
and his promissory note in the latter. The deed, abstract, 
and mortgage each received attention at the proper time, so 
that everything proceeded in a thoroughly businesslike man- 
ner. The information sought by the children was given in a 
most careful and courteous way by the citizens. 

The school bank. Miss Adler, principal of Public 
School No. 77 of New York City, accomplished the 
motivation of her work through the establishment of a 
public-school bank. She reports most enthusiastically: — 

The bank is a fund of motives. It was established by Mr. 
Mandelstam, a teacher of this school, and is a source of much 
pleasurable work for the classes. Its possibilities are being 
developed daily and I find new modes of using it constantly. 

This organization is under the management of pupils. It 
accepts deposits and issues checks and notes. Deposit slips 
are made out by pupils. 

In connection with the mathematics department of the 
school, the following operations were carried on: Interest 
computed; notes discounted; percentage found — all cases 
including rinding the percentage, the base, rate, etc., by com- 
parison of sums deposited with total sums in bank. 

In lower grades pupils add amounts deposited. 

The slips from the adding machine are clipped and given in 
parts to individual pupils. The total is computed by children, 
and then compared with total as given by adding machine. 

Very small pupils make cylindrical packages of ten single 
cents, ten nickels, etc. 

The introduction of the decimal point in the third year is 
taught by the use of deposit slips. 

The foregoing are but a few of the practical applications of 
the "bank" to mathematics. From the economic standpoint, 
the following results have been obtained : — 

Individual pupils have saved sufficient money to pay gradu- 
ation expenses. 

Parents have opened accounts through pupils. 

Clothing and other necessary articles have been purchased 
by pupils. 

Thanksgiving dinners have been furnished. 



178 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

The bank has a full staff of officers, whose work is similar 
to the usual work of such officers in banks. 

Excellent training in such work as may afterwards prove 
of practical value is thus afforded. Positions have already 
been offered by banking firms. 

The idea of the school bank has been used success- 
fully in high-school work. The head of the commercial 
department in the high school at Montclair, New Jersey, 
made the bank an integral and very valuable part of his 
commercial work. The bank was fully officered and 
received deposits, and even paid a higher rate of inter- 
est on deposits than was paid by the local savings bank. 
The result was a line of activity which thoroughly en- 
listed the interests of the high-school pupils. Some may 
think that high-school pupils are too mature to play at 
anything of this sort, but such is not the case, and the 
high-school teacher who cannot cooperate in such enter- 
prises would doubtless do well to turn to other work, 
leaving the high-school work to individuals who at least 
are young in spirit. The play instinct should never quite 
die out. And it is certainly possible, even in high school, 
to conceive of an enterprise that is worth while from 
the standpoint of giving experience which is practical 
and which will later carry over into life in valuable 
forms. 

The Francis W. Parker School furnishes a good ex- 
ample of motive in group activities. Each year the 
eighth grade has undertaken to do some big thing for 
the school. Last year the group decided to build on the 
playground a house which could be used by the smaller 
children for a playhouse, or by the school for some 
serious work. The construction proved to be quite an 
undertaking, the house being large enough for a good- 
sized classroom. The planning and construction of the 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 179 

house were supervised by the eighth-grade room teacher 
and the manual-training teacher. 

The project involved considerable good mathematics, 
correlated with the regular arithmetic course of the 
grade. Each pupil worked out a mechanical drawing of 
the plans for the building to a scale of one sixteenth of 
an inch to a foot. In laying out the foundation they 
discovered and used the Pythagorean theorem on the 
relation between the sides of a right triangle. Each 
pupil made a book about the house. This book con- 
tained tables for securing square corners and a complete 
bill of lumber for the house and other necessary material 
involved in its construction. 

An undertaking of this extent will not be possible in 
every school, but with the introduction of manual train- 
ing, similar projects on a smaller scale may be very 
properly undertaken in any school. 

Comparison of courses of study. The carrying-out of 
a positive program such as is indicated above will neces- 
sitate the omission of some of the traditional topics 
from the arithmetic course. As early as 1904, Dr. Frank 
M. McMurry presented the theory of this omission be- 
fore the National Department of Superintendents. He 
recommended the social-utility standard of selection, 
which demands the omission of all topics that are becom- 
ing obsolete, because better ideas and processes are tak- 
ing their places, as well as of other topics which are so 
little used as not to justify the time spent by the student. 

Five years after Dr. McMurry had given his stand- 
ards, it was the privilege of one of the authors to make 
a study with a corps of teachers which indicated more or 
less how fully the standards set by Dr. McMurry were 
being carried into practice. The following summary of 
thirty-nine city courses of study shows that many of the 



180 



THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 



topics formerly receiving attention in the arithmetic 
work were being omitted entirely : — 



GRADE OCCURRENCE OF ARITHMETIC TOPICS 

(From 39 courses) 



Subject 



Numeration. 

Notation 

Relation of numbers 

Addition 

Subtraction 

Multiplication 

Division 

Fractions 

Denominate numbers 

Involution and evolution. . 

Decimal fractions 

Mensuration 

Multiplication tables 

Commission and brokerage 

Insurance 

Percentage 

Ratio and proportion. .... 

Partnership 

Partial payments 

G.C.D. and L.C.M 

Longitude and time 

Profit and loss 

Taxes 

Duties 

Banking 

Exchange 

Simple interest 

Stocks and bonds 

Business forms 

Simple accounts 









Grades 






1 


2 


3 


h 


5 


6 


7 


37 


37 


33 


18 


7 


4 


4 


34 


39 


33 


18 


7 


4 


4 


10 


11 


6 


5 


5 


4 


4 


23 


39 


33 


28 


13 


9 


6 


24 


39 


34 


26 


13 


9 


6 


10 


28 


30 


25 


15 


15 


10 


2 


16 


21 


34 


27 


25 


19 


10 


28 


22 


31 


34 


28 


24 


11 


20 


23 


34 


30 
1 


31 
1 


29 

7 








5 


23 


12 


8 


6 


8 


10 


11 


12 


14 


14 


2 


8 


20 


18 


7 
7 


5 
10 
10 
16 


7 
11 

9 
13 








1 


3 

4 


8 
2 

6 

4 
7 
2 
1 


6 

7 
3 

7 
17 
14 
13 

9 

4 








1 


2 
1 


12 

4 


23 

6 

15 








3 


6 


5 


3 



1 
1 

3 
3 
3 

10 

17 

24 

22 

16 

1 

12 

6 

6 

6 

8 

9 

4 

5 

1 

2 
3 
1 
6 



The teachers who assisted in this study were much 
interested in the returns. It was evident that the doc- 



MOTIVATION OF ARITHMETIC 181 

trines preached by Dr. McMurry were being accepted 
by school superintendents throughout the country. It 
was not surprising, therefore, after a year's work, to 
have this committee of teachers make the following rec- 
ommendations with reference to the course of study in 
arithmetic : — 

On the basis of the business requirements of the large 
majority of the community, the following traditional subjects 
should be entirely eliminated, or attended to after the essen- 
tials have been mastered : — 

1. Long method of Greatest Common Divisor. 

2. Most of Least Common Multiple. 

3. Long confusing problems in common fractions. 

4. Long method of division of fractions. (Always invert and 
multiply instead.) 

5. Complex and compound fractions. 

6. Apothecaries' weight, troy weight, the furlong in long 
measure, the rood in square measure, drachm and quarter 
in avoirdupois weight, the surveyor's table, the table of 
folding paper, tables of foreign money, all reductions of 
more than two steps. 

7. Most of longitude and time. 

8. Cases in percentage. (Make one case by using x and the 
equation.) 

9. True discount. 

10. Most of compound and annual interest. 

11. Partial payments, except the simplest. 

12. Profit and loss as a separate topic. 

13. Partnership. 

14. Cube root. 

The lines marked out by this study in 1909 were car- 
ried further in an exhaustive study reported at the 
meeting of the National Department of Superintendents 
at Richmond. It is surprising to find the general 
agreement throughout the United States upon the plat- 
form as originally laid down by Dr. McMurry and car- 
ried forward by progressive superintendents since that 



182 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

time. It is common practice for the obsolete material to 
be put aside in favor of the newer, more vital, interest- 
arousing problems and present-day situations. This 
newer standard of motivated work requires that nothing 
shall be included which does not function in the life of a 
student in his relations to the community. The above 
negative discussion and enumeration of obsolete topics 
is deemed wise only by way of contrast. 

Since we have now come to the view that the best 
discipline results from working with topics that con- 
tribute directly to the satisfaction of the child's inter- 
ests, or which relate very closely to community activi- 
ties, we are no longer justified in carrying the dead 
weight of obsolete material which we have previously 
carried for mere disciplinarian purposes. 1 

1 The reader who desires to investigate the subject further will 
find abundant evidence in support of the progressive program in 
this chapter. See Bibliography, on pp. 253-56, for references. 



CHAPTER X 

THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 

In the preceding chapters, the motivation of writ- 
ing, spelling, music, drawing, nature-study, agriculture, 
manual training, and home economics has been touched 
upon in connection with the motivation of other sub- 
jects and also in the general chapters. The importance 
of these subjects, however, requires that they receive 
at least brief individual treatment. 

The motivation of writing. Aside from the interest in 
repetition in practice and the mastery of a new art, the 
chief reason for the wish to write well is the social value 
of writing. It enables children to share their experiences 
with absent friends, to make their wishes and needs 
known to those who can help them, and to enjoy a new 
medium of self-expression. Teachers who wish to moti- 
vate the writing lessons of the school not only seek to 
make the exercises themselves vital and interesting, but 
likewise to have the children see that they may gain 
certain definite ends if they have the ability to write. 

For example, if the class wishes to order something 
from a firm of merchants, or to make a request of some 
prominent official, it is made clear to the pupils that the 
letter chosen for sending must be one of the most neatly 
and legibly written. If invitations to some school func- 
tion are being written, only those children who are 
improving in their writing and who do neat, careful 
work may help write the invitations. If an exhibit of the 
best work of the room is being prepared, one require- 



186 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

ment of all papers included is that they must be well 
written. Often the writing-lesson is used in writing 
something which the children are preparing for some 
definite end. Neat, careful writing is important, if the 
desired result is to be obtained. 

In all of these, and in many other ways known to the 
ingenious teacher, an impelling desire to master the art 
of writing is developed in the members of the class, with 
the result that the writing period is not a meaningless, 
laborious drill to be endured, but an exercise for which 
the children are eager because it helps them to secure 
some equipment they feel they need. 

The Thorndike scale 1 may be used in the writing- 
work in such manner as to enable the pupil to satisfy 
his instinct for competition or his instinct for "doing 
things." There is considerable evidence that this may 
be done very effectively in the writing-work of the 
school. The boy or girl who has been accustomed to a 
grade of 70 or 80 in writing from the first grade up to the 
eighth grade very properly may have reached the con- 
clusion that it is "all humbug anyway." He is certainly 
writing better than he did in the second grade, — or it 
may be that he is writing worse than he did in the sixth 
grade, — and yet he gets a grade of 70 or 80, or there- 
abouts, month after month and year after year. The 
situation is immediately changed, however, when the 
Thorndike scale is put before him and he is taught to 
apply his own writing to the scale in order to see the 
value which should be placed upon it. When the stand- 
ard is properly presented to him, he is immediately in- 
spired with the determination to climb that scale and to 

1 In some respects the Ayres scale for measuring handwriting is 
easier to use, as it presents three degrees of slant in the specimens 
of each quality. 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 187 

bring his writing to a higher standard. It is no longer a 
matter of opinion on the part of a teacher, or lack of 
opinion, as the case may be. The pupil is in a position 
to determine for himself his grade in writing independ- 
ently of the teacher's judgment. He can do this as often 
as he likes. He can take his written work daily to the 
scale and make the application. He may be taught also 
to have ideas with reference to legibility of writing, the 
necessity of a good legible hand in order to carry on 
business transactions properly, and the need of care on 
his part in order to hold the standard in writing which he 
has attained. 

The writing scale may be used even with more ad- 
vanced students with equal effect. A class of seventy- 
four summer session students at the Iowa State College 
were measured by the Thorndike scale at the beginning 
of the six weeks' work. They showed a range in ability 
from 7 to 16 on the Thorndike scale, the median falling 
at quality 11, or about sixty per cent by the old method 
of grading. At the end of the six weeks all but two had 
passed the original median ability of the class, and the 
class as a whole (as shown by median) had advanced from 
quality 11 to quality 16. Twenty of the group were 
graded quality 18, or one hundred per cent on the old 
basis. Not only did the class make this improvement, 
but they took great interest in using the scale and noting 
their own advancement. It became in the case of each 
student not a question of competing with the class, but 
of competing with himself. This is a form of competi- 
tion which is entirely commendable and which has none 
of the objectionable features of class competition. 

Under the guidance of the instructor the group was 
directed in the making of a simplified writing scale. 
This consisted of a scale of eight qualities or steps, and 



188 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

was designed for use with summer session students, 
prospective teachers. It is a scale l that could be used in 
the upper grades. The purpose in making the scale, 
however, was to enable the teachers more fully to under- 
stand the scale, to appreciate its uses, and to lead them 
to desire to make a simplified scale for use with their own 
children. Superintendent Bliss, of the Montclair schools, 
has found that a scale made from the writing of pupils 
makes a stronger appeal than either the Thorndike or 
Ayres scale. The pupil's own scale enables him to com- 
pare himself more easily and fully with himself. 

It may not be out of place at this time to suggest the 
use of judgment and intelligence in the writing-work. 
The purpose of writing is either to make a record for the 
pupil's own personal advantage or to communicate with 
others. A pupil may record rapidly and in a hand that 
is much below the quality which he is willing to submit 
to his friends. In this record for his own use he may 
even use the finger movement; he may write under con- 
ditions that do not permit of correct form, and yet he is 
accomplishing his purpose. But when he begins to pre- 
pare a letter to mail, a report to be submitted to his 
teachers, or material which is to come under the view of 
others, it is worth while that he should meet standard 
conditions and show a quality of writing which com- 
mends him to his fellows. Democracy in education 
requires that we more and more make use of judgment 
and common sense in dealing with our pupils. 

An extended study of the quality of writing which 
capable, intelligent, mature people use in business and 
in life shows the futility of insisting upon artificial 
standards in writing, and the necessity of using good 

1 Dr. Ayres's scale for judging the handwriting of adults is an 
excellent device for use with older students. 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 189 

judgment as to where high standards must be insisted 
upon. The writer has been pursuing such a study for 
several years, and has applied the Thorndike scale to 
the ordinary writing of teachers at teachers' institutes, 
of graduate students in Columbia University, of appli- 
cants for positions through the Social Service Bureau of 
New York City, of inquiries addressed to this same 
bureau by society leaders and business managers and 
others employing personal service, of signatures to bank 
checks, and of the writing of undergraduate college 
students. In all of these studies, the median for a group 
seldom rises above quality 10 of the Thorndike scale. 
The best quality of writing was shown by applicants for 
positions. They know that the success of their applica- 
tion may depend upon the writing, and so they return to 
their best schoolroom style. All other classes, with indi- 
vidual exceptions in each direction, write a quality x that 
is only reasonably legible and that lends itself to speed. 
Teachers should at least keep in mind the limitations 

1 Many educators will agree with Dr. Thorndike that where a 
high degree of neatness and legibility is required, the typewriter 
should be used to secure the required results. It is interesting to note 
in this connection an article in the current number of the Breeders' 
Gazette (November 19, 1914), entitled "Typewriting Machines on the 
Farm." The prediction is made that in a short time the use of the 
typewriter on the farm will be almost universal. Many will be inclined 
to doubt the correctness of this prophecy, but no one doubts the edu- 
cational value of the typewriter in leading to greater precision and 
accuracy, and many will agree that for these reasons alone its use is 
bound to increase. 

A recent report is made of a father who purchased a typewriter for 
the family as an educational investment. The father dictated all 
his important letters to his oldest child and she learned to take them 
easily. He did not buy the typewriter because he thought that the 
children would ever need to use it as a means of gaining their liveli- 
hood, but as a means of education whereby his three children, aged 
eleven, thirteen, and seventeen respectively, might learn a proper use 
of English, clearness in expression, correct spelling, capitalization, 
punctuation, paragraphing, and all forms needed in business letters- 



190 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

of handwriting, should use judgment in their require- 
ments, and should seek more and more to furnish proper 
motives for a reasonably high quality of writing. 

The motivation of spelling. A great many children 
like to spell. They enjoy the repetition involved and the 
victories achieved. For them, other motives are not 
seriously needed, although their enthusiasm and deter- 
mination are certainly increased under such stimuli. For 
others, motives must be supplied. 

The fundamental reason for learning to spell words is 
that the student may be able to write them accurately 
in any record he may wish to keep or any communica- 
tion he may wish to make. Through the records and 
communications necessary in school work, the skillful 
teacher finds an abundance of ways to motivate spelling. 
Correct records in gardening, in weather observation, or 
in industrial arts cannot be made unless the children 
know how to spell the words they need to use. They can- 
not write their experiences on an excursion unless they 
can spell the words necessary to describe the trip. If the 
school is preparing a letter of inquiry, a request, or a 
business letter addressed to persons outside the school, 
only those letters which are correct in spelling can be 
sent. Only work in which the spelling is correct may be 
included in an exhibit of good school work. 

All of these reasons and many others impress on chil- 
dren the need of learning to spell. They grow eager to 
become good spellers, find the spelling work pleasurable, 
and produce results much more accurate than those 
secured when the spelling assignments seem merely im- 
posed tasks. 

The true test of spelling work is the ability of each 
child to spell his own vocabulary in his written work. 
Therefore, the problem of greatest importance is to 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 191 

motivate successfully for each child the mastery of those 
words v/hich are difficult for him. Most children of 
normal ability find it easy to learn to spell nearly all 
words in their ordinary speaking and writing vocabu- 
laries. There is, however, a certain small percentage of 
troublesome words, of which believe and receive are typi- 
cal. The careful teacher finds ways of focusing the atten- 
tion of each child upon just those words which are par- 
ticularly difficult for him. Some teachers have each child 
keep a list of such words, allowing each word to be 
struck off as soon as it ceases to appear incorrectly 
spelled in his written work. This game of keeping a 
"minimum list" is fascinating to children, and furnishes 
sufficient stimulus to produce the desired result. These 
lists are of great help to the teacher in planning her 
spelling tests. 

Obviously the standard of requiring pupils to spell 
correctly only their writing vocabularies greatly limits 
the amount of spelling work necessary. The writing 
vocabulary of children is much less than their reading 
vocabulary — in fact, there are indications that it is not 
over one fourth as large. Yet many teachers have made 
the mistake of using the pupils' reading-vocabulary 
as the basis of spelling work. Many have gone even 
further, taking from the spelling-book and spelling-lists 
words which were not even understood by the pupil. 
This is clearly a waste of time. A study by Dr. Ayres 
has shown the futility of learning to spell words for an 
indefinite possible future use. 1 There is considerable 
evidence that vocabularies decrease rather than increase 
after pupils leave school, and that work in preparation 
for the future is entirely wasted. 

At any rate, there is enough to do at the present time. 
1 L. P. Ayres, Spelling Vocabularies of Personal and Business Letters. 



192 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Nobody questions that the pupil needs to learn to spell 
his own vocabulary, or that he needs to find out early 
just what words he is misspelling. He needs to keep a 
regular spelling-list of his own misspelled words. Even 
the boy or girl in the grades can see that time spent on 
this list is not wasted. He has the evidence before him 
again and again that if he is to succeed in his school 
work now, he must learn to spell certain words. 

Dr. Jones has shown us that nine tenths of all mis- 
spelled words occur in the second- and third-grade vo- 
cabularies. Poor spelling has resulted from our failure to 
correct the misspelled words in these vocabularies. Very 
foolishly we have made the child spend his time upon 
words which he will never use — words which he does 
not even understand — in the hope that by this process 
we should correct the spelling of such words as which, 
their, there, separate, been, until, etc. When the pupil has 
his own problem squarely before him, he is willing to 
attack it and throw his entire force into the undertaking. 
This is an opportunity for achievement and combat and 
he welcomes it. 

The motivation of music. For most children, music is 
an enjoyable subject of study. It is entered into with 
great enthusiasm. Yet how much more definitely this 
enthusiasm works if the children are striving to master 
their music not only because they like it, but because 
they have definite uses for it. What teacher has not 
noticed a new enthusiasm among her pupils during the 
music lessons when the class begins to develop some 
good songs for use on a public occasion. The use to 
which they are to be put gives point to the effort. It 
raises the standard of perfection the children wish to 
attain and it fires them with new zeal and firmer determi- 
nation. 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 193 

A large variety of needs for singing are ever present to 
the teacher who is alert to seize on occasions for using 
the singing ability of her children. They will be called 
upon to take part in the school assembly programs if the 
principal has heard them singing well some appropriate 
songs. If the children invite their parents to visit the 
schoolroom, a motive is provided for good singing both 
in their regular work and in the music rendered when a 
special program is provided. Conventions meeting in 
the city are often glad to have music furnished by chil- 
dren. Christmas, Easter, and Memorial Day offer many 
opportunities for singing. 

There is a growing practice of presenting at some time 
during the school year a formal and ambitious program 
growing out of the regular music work of the schools. 
The following announcement quoted from the Portland, 
Oregon, School Bulletin of November 13, 1914, is typical: 

Arrangements have been made for a series of entertain- 
ments at the following high schools on the dates named: 
Washington, Friday evening, November 20th; Lincoln, Friday 
evening, December 4th; Jefferson, Friday evening, December 
11th. The programs will consist of choruses and orchestra 
numbers by the school, a solo or two by pupils, and singing of 
old familiar songs by the audience. 

Perhaps the larger cities have presented such programs 
more frequently than have the smaller cities and towns; 
perhaps, also, these efforts have been too closely con- 
fined to students of the high schools. Where good music 
is provided, children of all grades may help in the devel- 
opment of these more extensive programs for presenta- 
tion before the public. In one small city, the school 
music festival has developed until it is one of the most 
important entertainment features of the year for the 
entire community. 



194 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

In the small community of Winfield, Kansas, since 
1912 the schools have given a series of musical pro- 
grams in which the high-school chorus and the Winfield 
Orchestral Club combine. Originally they were pro- 
jected as a means of motivating the work of these two 
organizations. So well were their efforts received that 
the scope of their work has been extended, and the teach- 
ing of dramatics in the public schools under competent 
instruction has been established. 

One of the interesting features in connection with this 
work was the publication of two pamphlets announcing 
these musical programs and giving the fundamental 
ideas in the minds of those responsible for the develop- 
ment of the work. Mr. Edward B. Gordon, the director, 
says in a letter, "A careful survey of the programs will 
reveal the fact that every selection has had behind the 
choice some definite purpose." 

The program for the season of 1913-14 was designed 
to give a historical perspective for the study of music. 
It was as follows: — 

PROGRAM 

Hymn to the Muse Grecian about 500 B.C. 

Early Christian Hymn St. Ambrose 400 a.d. 

Hymn — one of the early at- 
tempts at harmony 900 

Sumer is icumen in — first Eng- 
lish secular composition 1240 

Einfeste Burg — Luther's great 

Reformation hymn 1483 

Latona, lovely maiden Lassus 1520 

When flowery meadows Palestrina 1590 

Intermission 

Adagio from Violin Sonata, Op. 1 Corelli 1653 

Loure from 3d Suite for Violon- 
cello Bach 1685 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 195 

Theme and variations from 

Kaiser Quartet Haydn 1732 

Celebrated minuet Boccherini 1743 

Romance in G, Op. 40, for violin Beethoven 1770 

Minuet ^ 

Bridal Chorus > from Lohengrin Wagner 1813 

Vorspiel ) 

Accompanying this program were five pages of notes 
carefully prepared by the director to show the three 
periods in the development of the art of music which the 
program was designed to illustrate. The notes were 
written in a clear and simple form designed to aid even 
a novice in appreciating the program presented. 

The second program of that year was especially de- 
signed for the entertainment of the children of the first 
four grades in the elementary schools. Programs three 
and four were orchestral programs, the fifth was a 
choral program, and the sixth a children's program 
given by four hundred children from the grade schools, 
supported by the Winfield Orchestral Club. 

Eight concerts were given the next year, opening with 
the presentation of an Old-English mystery play, in- 
tended to give perspective to the study of the drama. 
The previous year's standard of variety and excellence 
was maintained in the series of programs offered. The 
director's letter emphasized the point that the young 
people taking part in these programs felt it a high privi- 
lege to contribute their talent to the community life. As 
a result of their entertainments, they not only gained a 
great deal in musical enjoyment and appreciation them- 
selves, but developed a taste in their audiences for the 
class of music which they offered. The net proceeds of 
these programs were used to purchase reference books 
on music for the public library and a number of orches- 
tral instruments which were presented to the public- 



196 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

school system to be used by students unable to buy their 
own instruments. 

The motivation of drawing. The many mediums em- 
ployed, the fascination of using color, the chance for 
originality and invention make drawing a delightful 
subject to most children. To these sources of immediate 
interest must be added the great variety of uses to which 
drawing may be put. For example, if the children make 
portfolios in the manual-training class, an interesting 
problem in design and lettering is at once created by the 
need for decorating and labeling the front covers. Like- 
wise, if booklets embodying results from nature-study, 
history, or composition are made, many pleasant les- 
sons in drawing result. Designs for the covers must 
be developed and executed, the titles of the booklets 
must be lettered, and illustrative drawings may be 
added. 

From time to time through the year need arises for 
programs and announcements, which may be designed 
and lettered more or less elaborately. Parents' meetings, 
school parties, public performances of plays or concerts 
all require such productions. Posters may be made an- 
nouncing entertainments, and such events as football, 
basket-ball, and athletic field days. Christmas and 
birthday presents may be made with the aid of pencil 
and brush. In making such gifts manual training and 
artistic ability often are united to produce attractively 
designed tiles, book-racks, trays, and the like. 

One supervisor of drawing enlisted the children in the 
work of making and illustrating an art booklet of con- 
siderable extent. The pupils designed the cover, de- 
signed and illuminated initial letters for the chapters, 
colored outline pictures, and painted special illustrations. 
This was in addition to composing the body of the book- 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 197 

let, which consisted of chapters on the beauty and color 
effects of each school month. 

A class in design in the Washington Irving High 
School of New York City competed for Ladies' Home 
Journal prizes; another found an absorbing problem in 
an attempt to fill an order for an advertising design to 
be used by a shoe manufacturer. In another community, 
on completion of a new high-school building the students 
of the art department consulted with the architect and 
developed a plan for planting the grounds with shrub- 
bery. The board of education made it possible to execute 
this plan and it was turned over to the students of 
botany and agriculture, who did the planting. 

There is evidence that art, or drawing, is becoming 
more and more a useful help in other subjects. This is 
surely one of the easiest and most natural sources of 
motive. In some colleges the art work is subordinated to 
the home economics department, and is used only as 
applied decoration and design. The wise grade teacher 
constantly uses art in illustrating or amplifying work 
developed in other subjects. Without such correlation, 
art is frequently a joy only to the gifted artistic child. 
With it, the ordinary child sees its value, and other sub- 
jects supply the ideas and the plans. With these fur- 
nished, he is able to apply art media in serviceable and 
sensible ways. 

The use of art work in high-school classes is well il- 
lustrated in the experience of Miss Floy Campbell, 
formerly art teacher in the Manual Training High 
School of Kansas City. The art knowledge and ability 
of pupils was applied to the designing, decorating, and 
furnishing of a house. 

The first requirement was that all students should send for 
as many catalogues as possible frpm first-class dealers in 



198 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

building material, furniture, etc. They collected and studied 
house plans until they could read them easily. They visited 
a new addition on the outskirts of town. Each student se- 
lected in this addition his own lot, interviewing the agent to 
find what the restrictions were, what the cost would be and the 
probable price of improvements still to be made. Each stu- 
dent then selected or originated his house plan, making it 
suitable for his lot and exposure. He then drew the plan of 
the lot with the house properly placed, added trees, shrub- 
bery, and garden, and finally drew a colored picture of the 
house in the garden. Neighborhood harmony, community 
planning, etc., were discussed during this part of the study. 
Forest Hills Gardens, Roland Park, and beautiful portions of 
our own city served as models. 

By this time the catalogues had arrived. Samples of wood 
stain, paints, wall-papers, etc., had also arrived. Experts from 
our best stores gave the class illustrated lectures on rugs and 
other floor coverings. The student now cut and mounted 
samples of paper, wood, curtain material, and rugs to repre- 
sent the color arrangement of each room in the house. One or 
two of the rooms were then drawn in perspective and colored. 
Furniture was selected from the stores or from catalogues for 
each room. Pictures were discussed, cheap but good methods 
of reproduction being especially studied. Finally, sofa pillows 
and all details of house furnishing came in for their share of 
attention. Original designs were generally made for these, 
and, when possible, carried out by the student as well. One or 
two of the houses planned were actually built every year. 

With smaller pupils the plan can be best carried out by 
actually building a miniature house. This makes a good 
cooperative art and manual-training problem. An open 
five-room house plan was made by the third- and fourth- 
grade pupils of a summer session observation school. In 
this case rugs were woven, curtains made, bath tub 
moulded, furniture constructed; in fact, all work neces- 
sary to complete the model was done by the pupils under 
the direction of a single teacher. It is a good illustration 
of the coordination of school activities that even the 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 199 

arithmetic work was used in the undertaking. All models 
were constructed to scale, and the final result was ex- 
hibited by the pupils with proper pride. The house plan 
as developed in chapter IX could easily have been made 
the basis for some practical art work, and would have 
been so used except for other enterprises at that time 
under way by the art teacher. 

The motivation of home economics. The work in 
home economics in our schools has been unusually 
fortunate and for the most part has escaped the formaliz- 
ing process which has been experienced by drawing, 
music, and manual training. The present tendency is to 
place home economics in the schools as low as the fifth 
grade and to give the work to boys and girls alike for at 
least two years. The subject deals with problems that 
are of interest in every home and reduces home man- 
agement to a rational basis. The work itself satisfies the 
instinct for manipulation and construction. 

In one school the fifth-grade work in home economics 
was correlated with the American pioneer history work 
as outlined for this grade. While the work was broadly 
informational, it gave plenty of opportunity for in- 
teresting projects. For instance, methods of cooking 
were studied — use of hot stones, hot ashes, open fire- 
place, and ovens. These were accompanied by exercises 
in grinding corn, baking with hot stones, drying corn 
and apples, making soap, and dipping candles. The 
children were so interested in the work at school that 
most of them dipped candles at home, and the exercises 
in soap-making offered an interest and satisfaction which 
can scarcely be realized by older people. The children 
then modeled a log cabin and secured part of a fleece of 
wool which they intended to wash and comb and which 
later they expected to spin, weave, and dye. By this 



200 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

method the children have valuable exercises in food, 
shelter, and clothing, and get them in a form which gives 
a historical background that in itself is most valuable. 

In this same school the sixth-grade pupils make a 
sewing project out of their cooking-uniforms. Each girl 
makes for herself a cap, an apron, and a holder. No 
formal exercises in sewing are planned. Every stitch is 
used in making something which the girls expect to wear, 
or in dressing a doll, planning a Christmas present, 
or making some useful article for the home. 

This idea has been carried out in many high schools 
through the recommendation that the members of the 
senior class make their own graduating dresses. This 
type of exercise not only furnishes motive, but it has 
by-product values which are significant from the school 
and home standpoint. The use of the home-economics 
department in planning menus, serving banquets, and 
decorating schoolrooms has become very common. In 
places this is extended to the decorating of homes and 
the girls are particularly encouraged to rearrange and if 
possible redecorate and even refurnish their own rooms. 
Superintendent Condon, in his "home school" at Provi- 
dence, Rhode Island, 1 has shown us a type of work that 
is not only worth while for the girl in the factory, but is 
becoming more and more common in the regular high- 
school work. More and more the school board is willing 
to provide a house for the home-economics department 
with opportunities to work in the kitchen, in the dining- 
room, and in the bedroom — in short, to carry on all 
phases of home work, including care and management 
as well as furnishing and cleaning. It is this type of work 
which we need to encourage by every possible means. It 
is the best assurance that our home-economics work is 
1 Ada Wilson Trowbridge, The Home Life School. 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 201 

doing good in the community and that it is satisfying 
the demands of childhood as well as the demands of 
school work. 

The work in home economics in the rural schools finds 
its center and motive in the hot dish to be prepared for 
the noonday lunch. Pupils and patrons alike enjoy the 
hot dish, but as a teaching center it serves many pur- 
poses in addition to this. There is the opportunity of 
teaching the use of the napkin, proper laying-out of the 
lunch, proper serving of the hot dish, correct deport- 
ment — in fact, all of the opportunities which the mother 
and father have at home are given the teacher, because 
of the fact that she is, in a way, furnishing part of the 
lunch and assumes the responsibility of organizing and 
directing it. Even sanitation is included — washing the 
hands before the meal, and, possibly, using the tooth- 
brush afterward. 

This particular form of giving motive to the work in 
home economics is widely recognized. It is now the 
basis of work for rural teachers in the summer session at 
Manhattan, Kansas, and at Ames, Iowa. It is made the 
basis of a bulletin in Oregon and in Maryland. It has 
its limitations, but in the rural schools not much home 
economics can be taught directly, and this seems to be 
the most reasonable method of procedure. 

The organization of the lunch around a particular hot 
dish involves the planning of the entire lunch for the 
pupils. The meal must be properly balanced. If starch 
food is furnished in the hot dish, — as, for instance, by 
preparing baked potatoes or tapioca pudding, — then 
the pupils must bring in their lunch food that will fur- 
nish the other necessary food elements. This becomes 
a definite problem with almost every variation in the 
dish furnished at school. In this way pupils learn why 



202 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

it is that they should not have in the same meal rice, 
fried potatoes, and cornbread. In the South, the de- 
sirability of this kind of instruction has been brought 
strongly to the attention of people because of the dis- 
covery that the dreaded disease pellagra is due to the 
one-food diet, and the further discovery that the disease 
may be cured by proper variation of the diet. While the 
lesson is not so strong in all parts of the country, it is a 
generally recognized fact that a varied diet is necessary 
to proper nutrition, and there is no better way of teach- 
ing this than the practical one of planning with the 
pupils the proper make-up of the balanced noon lunch. 
This work has been found to carry a great deal of inter- 
est in that it involves the preparation and active manip- 
ulation of materials. This appeals to the activities of 
children. Boys as well as girls participate, taking their 
turn at operating the stove and preparing the food or 
washing the utensils. 

The motivation of manual training. All types of 
normal children enjoy working with tools and employ- 
ing materials in construction. The double source of 
motivation — interest in invention and construction, 
and desire to possess the finished product — urges most 
manual-training pupils to apply themselves whole- 
heartedly to their work. 

Moreover, from the first grade up through the eighth, 
there are abundant opportunities for cooperative work, 
which adds other secondary motives. A common eighth- 
grade problem is the making of a miniature house for 
the use of first-grade children, who enjoy planning and 
making the furniture for the house in their construction 
lessons. Such a house usually contains a kitchen, dining- 
room, living-room, and bedroom, and may be much more 
elaborate. A large number of interesting problems are 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 203 

presented in making the stove, tables, chairs, book- 
cases, etc. In the intermediate grades various fittings 
for the teacher's desk or the principal's office may be 
made, such as baskets for pens and pencils, small waste- 
baskets, rugs, or couch covers. In the upper grades 
successive classes often contribute pieces of furniture 
needed in furnishing a rest-room or office, or rendering a 
corridor attractive. These needs result in the making of 
such articles of furniture as library tables, taborets, 
bookcases, davenports, chairs, etc. 

In a certain Middle Western high school, a teacher of 
domestic art reports that her classes completed the fol- 
lowing problems in one year : making the necessary table 
linen for the domestic-science department; six infant 
outfits for the school nurse; bean-bags for the use of the 
physical-training department; the curtain or screen re- 
quired as part of the moving-picture equipment for the 
high-school auditorium; costumes for the "fireflies" in a 
little dramatization of Hiawatha; costumes for the Eng- 
lish department in presenting dramatizations of the 
Canterbury Tales and As You Like It; and costumes 
for the use of the German department in presenting the 
dramatization of William Tell. This report is typical 
of the problems developed in domestic-art courses in 
good high schools. 

One of the best illustrations of vitalizing the manual- 
training work of the students and motivating the com- 
munity's interest in and support of it comes from a 
small city in Montana. 1 

Manual training was started in this community by 
the appointment of a wide-awake, well-equipped teacher, 
who was given a small supply of tools. With these and 

1 Supplied by Mr. William Stewart, teacher of manual training, 
Townsend, Montana. 



£04 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

some rough lumber, by the aid of the boys who came 
into the class, two long carpenter's benches were made. 
Soon five smaller benches, with the necessary bench- 
hooks, were produced by the boys. Then they made a 
tool-case and the necessary racks for hanging their 
tools. Next in order, the instructor turned his attention 
to finding out the character of problem each boy would 
like to work upon. Soon some of the boys had produced 
whisk-broom racks, footstools, and small taborets. 
A little display of their work in the show-window of a 
downtown store resulted in opening up a large number 
of new problems for the boys, resulting in motivating 
their work in a remarkable way. A number of people 
who needed the services of a carpenter naturally turned 
to these boys in the manual-training department of the 
public schools for the work they needed done. A shoe 
dealer, who needed some racks for his show-window 
upon which to display the various styles of shoes, 
placed an order for sixteen racks. After the boys had 
completed the order and paid for the necessary ma- 
terials, they had a profit of $3.50 to divide among them- 
selves. By the time this work was completed, one of the 
moving-picture shows, having learned where the shoe 
dealer secured his display racks, placed an order for 
enough music-racks to accommodate the orchestra, and 
this order was soon filled at a profit of $2.50. A florist 
also placed an order for a small number of taborets for 
use in his place of business and in his show-window, 
which order was duly filled with a small profit. Then an 
ice-cream parlor placed an order for a number of four- 
leaf silk-filled screens. This work was satisfactorily deliv- 
ered, also with a small profit to the boys participating. 
A number of these boys brought from home certain 
pieces of work which needed to be done. One repaired 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 205 

a washstand; another made a frame for a looking-glass 
and mounted it upon the dresser; another brought a 
small chair and repaired it. All of these problems pre- 
sented themselves during the first year of the school's 
existence and the teacher in charge states that sufficient 
similar problems are continuing to present themselves, 
with the result that the boys are eagerly enthusiastic 
about their work. 

Superintendent Meek, of Boise, Idaho, reports that 
during one summer thirty boys were employed in com- 
pleting the wiring of the Boise High School under the 
direction of the manual-training teacher. Boys from 
this same department also laid cement walks, made 
cement posts, did the necessary cementing in a large 
dairy barn, drew the plans and wrote the specifications 
for a two-hundred-thousand dollar building which was 
planned in the drawing department, sprayed the or- 
chards near Boise, and applied the tuberculin test to 
cows under the direction of the teacher of agriculture, 
who was an expert dairyman and educated farmer. 

One of the largest cooperative problems ever under- 
taken by high-school pupils was that executed by the 
pupils in the high schools of Oregon, making all the 
furniture for the Oregon Building at the Panama- 
Pacific Exposition from plans and specifications like- 
wise made by Oregon high-school students. The furni- 
ture for all of the five rooms of the Fair Commissioners, 
the governor's reception-room, the general reception- 
room, and the dining-room were made by high-school 
pupils. The undertaking was planned in such a way that 
each high school of the State participated, each school 
being assigned a certain number of pieces to con- 
struct. 

The climax of turning the services of the manual- 



206 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

training students into practical and useful lines has been 
realized in a number of places in the United States this 
year through the efforts that are being made to relieve 
the needy and distressed condition of the Belgians. In 
the schools of Denver, for example, the children in the 
upper grades of the elementary schools were given a 
choice between making clothing for themselves or a 
warm garment for some poor little homeless child 
among the refugees of Europe. The opportunity thus 
opened met with a hearty response from the parents, 
teachers, and pupils. The result is that twenty-seven 
hundred warm, comfortable garments were made before 
the first relief ship was sent over. 

The foregoing types of work not only produce worth- 
while results in turning out useful products, but they 
call out the largest initiative in pupils and afford the 
finest possible means for the unfolding of personality. 
Not all manual-training work rises to the level of com- 
mon sense and interest of that set forth above. There 
is much evidence, however, that our best teachers do 
use manual training wisely, making it serve in promoting 
the development of children in larger ways. 

The following illustrations set forth in greater detail 
than any of the foregoing, the steps in the development 
of a large manual-training problem. They also show 
clearly the large variety of interesting, profitable prob- 
lems involved in the working-out of a large project. The 
first is a report from the teacher of the first four grades 
in a summer session model school. The enthusiasm of 
the children and the tangible results secured are strong 
evidence that manual-training work that is worth while 
can be done even in the lower grades. 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 207 

Plan for the construction of a house 

Before making a plan for their house the children discussed 
the different kinds of building materials and the advantages 
of each. The discussion led to the decision that we could 
make ours out of wood best. They discussed the number of 
rooms for it and decided to have five; library, dining-room, 
bedroom, kitchen, and bath. They then looked in different 
papers and magazines for house plans to see how they were 
drawn, noting the arrangement of the rooms. A number of 
original plans were placed on the board and discussed by the 
class and suggestions and changes were made until our final 
plan was complete. The scale for both house and furniture 
was one inch to the foot. A list of the pieces of furniture needed 
was made and each child was responsible for actually meas- 
uring certain pieces of furniture at home. The boys took these 
measurements and made drawings for their furniture. The 
pieces made were: chairs; library, dining and kitchen tables; 
bed; dresser; china closet; grandfather clock; davenport; book- 
case; library chair; stove, and kitchen cabinet. From clay 
they made a bathtub, lavatory, and kitchen sink. 

The girls planned the curtains and linens needed and these 
were made in the sewing-room. They made curtains for the 
windows, bed and table linen, pillows, cushions, mattresses, 
table-runner, dresser scarf, and towels. 

The boys made 9 x 13 looms on which to weave the rugs. 
The rugs were made from carpet warp. 

The children selected and brought wall-paper from home to 
paper the walls. The outside of the house was painted white. 
Heavy wire was used for curtain rods and screw eyes for 
fixtures. The curtains were hung, rugs laid, and furniture 
arranged by a committee appointed from the room. 

This problem should have longer than six weeks for its 
solution. If there had been time, I should have taken up in 
some detail the work of the different workmen needed to build 
a house; e.g., carpenter, mason, plumber, plasterer, painter, 
tinner, paper-hanger, etc. Baseboards, door and window 
facings should have been made; also doors made and hung. 
The children should have made the wall-paper, working out 
their own designs in water-color or crayola; also they should 
have made and framed pictures for the walls. 



208 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

The second illustration is from the principal of the 
consolidated school at Rollo, Illinois. This article em- 
phasizes strongly the necessity of using good judgment 
in adapting the manual-training work to local condi- 
tions and to the interests of the children. So adapted, 
the work is inspiring and offers large possibilities. 

Manual-training problems growing out of farming l 

In the work which relates more closely to the farm the 
boys worked out a new idea for a box in which to test seed 
corn. Each boy built his own box, took it home, and tested 
his father's seed corn. The corn crop this year in this com- 
munity speaks for the value of such work. 

Milk-stools in great variety have been made and taken 
home, where they are still in use. One industrious boy made 
a brooder, and proudly took it home, where it is soon to start 
on its second year of usefulness. Another boy worked out an 
ingenious turkey-trough. It is so perfectly- adapted to its spe- 
cific purpose that turkeys may eat and drink from it, while 
chickens cannot. Pig-troughs were made by practically all 
the boys, and it has been reported that feeding the pigs has 
taken on a new interest. 

An interesting case was that of one boy who carefully 
planned and made a martin-box. The plan, in some way, 
suggested a new style of pigpen to him. He planned and built 
a pigpen which has attracted considerable attention among 
those who keep and raise hogs. Led on by this success, the 
same young man has planned a new poultry-house which he 
will build this winter. 

These problems, let it be understood, come up in connec- 
tion with studies which have to do with these particular phases 
of farm life. As an illustration, in the animal husbandry class, 
the matter of a general-purpose barn was under discussion. 
The class visited various barns in the community and studied 
them in the light of the demands made upon them. Then each 
boy planned his ideal general-purpose barn. The plans were 
discussed in the class, and finally a composite plan for a model 
general-purpose barn was evolved. Accurate drawings were 

1 Reported in the Industrial Arts Magazine (January, 1914). 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 209 

made to scale, and a complete list of lumber arid materials 
for the full-size barn was made and the cost carefully esti- 
mated. It was then decided to build the model barn in minia- 
ture, but to make all dimensions exactly to scale. This was 
done. 

In a short time a barn in the neighborhood was burned to 
the ground, having been struck by lightning. The son of the 
owner was one of the boys who built the model barn at school. 
He proposed to his father to plan and build a new barn. So, 
with his experience in working with the model barn, he was 
able to make complete plans and drawings for a barn to suit 
the specific requirements of his father's farm. This, of course, 
was different in many respects from the model barn. The 
boy made a list of materials, estimated the cost, and with 
his father, who is not a carpenter, built the barn. Another 
boy from the same class is now making plans for a new barn 
on his father's farm, and work will soon begin on the construc- 
tion of it. 

The result is that, after scores of practical demonstrations 
of the ability of the boys to do independent thinking and 
skillful work, the people are inclined to feel that what the boys 
are doing in school is really worth while. They believe that 
along with the regular school work the boys are doing some- 
thing that makes them more interested and efficient workers 
in the home and on the farm. And when they believe this of 
our school, we have hope and evidence that their respect and 
their interest are strongly drawn toward it. 

The third illustration 1 shows a large variety of in- 
teresting problems needing solution which were derived 
from an entirely different source from the other prob- 
lems discussed. This opportunity arose out of the pro- 
vision of a vacant room next to the domestic-science 
kitchen for a dining-room. 

The question naturally arose: "How shall this room be fur- 
nished?" The answer came with one accord from those 
immediately interested: "Have our boys and girls make the 

1 Supplied by Philip S. Hasty, Director of Manual and Industrial 
Arts, Topeka, Kansas, from his experience in the Newman Manual- 
Training School, New Orleans, Louisiana. 



210 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

things which are necessary, so far as lies in their power, so 
that the room, when completed, will be convenient, artistic, 
and beautiful; so that it will be a permanent exhibit of what 
may be accomplished through a union of the arts and crafts 
and through enthusiastic and hearty cooperation between 
pupils and teacher." 

The first ten weeks of the school year were spent by the boys 
of the first- and second-year high-school classes in the work of 
designing. A study of the room was made, and the effect of its 
size, shape, and arrangement upon the character and disposi- 
tion of the furniture was determined. 

The following pieces were decided upon: — 
Six side chairs; two armchairs; one extension table, not to 
exceed 12| feet when open; one sideboard with china cabinet 
above — cabinet to be fitted with leaded glass doors (width of 
sideboard determined by width of space set apart for it) ; two 
serving-tables with cabinet below (doors to match those of 
china cabinet above large sideboard — width of these pieces 
also determined by the positions in which they were to stand). 
Material: Quarter-sawed oak. 
Style: Mission. 

Finish : Dark brown with an undertone of green. 
Then began the actual work of designing. Original research 
in the realm of furniture was required. Visits were made to 
store and factory to obtain ideas in design and for the purpose 
of studying typical forms of cabinet construction. 

The usual height of chairs, tables, and sideboards was stud- 
ied and discussed. Later an original design in pencil for each 
piece was submitted by each member of the class. From this 
sketch a working drawing and a drawing in perspective were 
made and inked. Some of the perspectives were later done in 
color. 

This work was, of course, competitive, the most suitable de- 
sign for each piece being selected by a committee consisting of 
the instructors in art, domestic science, and manual training. 
Tracings were made from the selected drawings and blue- 
prints struck off. All was then in readiness for the actual con- 
struction, which began shortly before Christmas. 

Commercial methods were adopted so far as possible 
throughout. The class of twenty boys was divided into five 
groups and a foreman appointed over each. The side chairs 
were assigned to two groups, the armchairs to one, the table 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 211 

to another, and the sideboard to the fifth, leaving the small 
serving-tables for those who should finish first. Practically 
all instruction was given to the foremen, who, in turn, looked 
after the details of the work. 

During the greater part of the year time-sheets were kept 
showing the amount of time spent by the different groups in 
the construction of each piece. 

Class discussions were held during which opportunity was 
given for the settlement of all disputed points. In this way 
also the entire class was able to keep in touch with the main 
points in the construction of each piece. 

Present space will not permit a detailed account of the many 
difficulties encountered, of the many battles fought and won. 
Suffice it to say that the results, both educational and commer- 
cial, were all that could have been expected. The year's work 
was one long lesson in generosity and good-will, in which each 
boy did his best. They learned to command firmly without 
being overbearing, and to obey with cheerfulness. Such a 
course is a maker of men. 

While this work was going forward in the shop, the dining- 
room was being prepared for occupancy. The woodwork, 
which had previously been natural cypress, was refinished by 
some of the larger members of the class to correspond to the 
furniture, and the floor stained to match. Decorators papered 
the walls and ceiling, the ceiling being dropped to the plate 
rail which extends around the room at the height of the door 
frames. Lanterns of brass and colored glass were made and 
hung in place. Thus with the addition of stenciled window 
hangings in blue and white from the domestic-art department, 
the room was ready. 

The above illustrations are but meager indications of 
the possibilities of manual-training work and give little 
conception of its wider development and possibilities in 
any system. It is believed, however, that they contain 
the correct key to the situation — that the manual-train- 
ing work must be divorced from formal exercises and be 
based upon worth-while projects growing out of the 
vital interests of the children, and recognized as being 
worthy of effort. 



212 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

The motivation of agriculture and nature-study. The 
work in agriculture and nature-study is motivated not 
only by the desire to do things, to be of importance, to 
accomplish results, but also by the commercial oppor- 
tunities of the undertaking. The successful club work 
now carried on by the Department of Agriculture in 
all parts of the Union makes use of all of these motives. 
It has given children an opportunity to be prominent by 
winning prizes and has rewarded them even to the extent 
of trips to the seat of the National Government. 

But while only a few could win the larger recognitions, 
all have been able to accomplish something worth while 
and to carry out enterprises in which the children them- 
selves were the chief actors. The ten-year-old boy in 
North Carolina who raised two hundred and twenty- 
eight bushels of corn to the acre not only "opened the 
eyes" of his clubmates throughout the country, but of 
farmers and business men as well, particularly through- 
out the Southern States. Acre-yield contests by school- 
children everywhere have shown a much higher yield 
than the average yield among farmers. A higher yield 
was to be expected, due to the extra interest and care, 
but an average two or three times the average for ma- 
ture farmers has shown the possibilities of a better agri- 
culture and given children stimulus for further effort. 

Most of the club work has been carried on by children 
in the grades. It has tended to motivate other work, 
such as composition, spelling, writing, and manual train- 
ing, but this has been of secondary importance. As 
teachers and citizens have seen the importance of the 
undertaking, they have not hesitated to designate 
agriculture and nature-study as lines of school work 
worthy of a part of the regular school time. 

Thousands of boys and girls throughout the nation are 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 213 

engaged in this club work, and a discussion of the work 
by Mr. Benson, of the Department of Agriculture, reads 
like a romance. Girls in the South and North have been 
inspired by their small successes and many have paid 
their way through college with canning projects. Over 
eight thousand boys and girls in Iowa were interested 
in this club work in 1915, and one return shows a 
yield of one hundred and fifty-one bushels in the acre- 
yield corn contest. Many go above one hundred bushels. 
These boys and girls are given recognition at county 
fairs, at the state fair, and at the short course of the agri- 
cultural colleges. They are made to realize that they 
are important members of the Commonwealth. 

The agricultural movement has not been confined to 
country children. The Chicago Tribune of August 29, 
1914, contained an illustrated article upon the work of 
the children who went to the Dvorak Park School. 
Seventy children had miniature gardens on the corner 
of the school-grounds. They used spades and rakes in 
planting, carried forward the work to its completion, 
and again in a few weeks began to gather their crops of 
radishes, lettuce, etc., and to replace the temporary 
crops by others. A month or so later the Chicago Trib- 
une contained further details of this school project, 
showing a harvest scene later in the fall. The children 
by actual experience gained knowledge as to crops, 
their production, crop failure, and other details which 
are valuable in themselves and which give them a larger 
interest in one of the great productive industries of our 
nation. 

A report on a tenth of an acre garden managed in con- 
nection with the model school of the summer session of 
the Iowa State College gives some idea of the com- 
mercial possibilities of a garden enterprise. This garden 



814 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

was conducted under ordinary circumstances, was not 
planted until May 20, was not irrigated during the dry 
summer, and received only ordinary attention through- 
out. The crops raised were beans, beets, cabbage, corn, 
cucumbers, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes. The expendi- 
ture for plants and seeds amounted to $6, for labor 
$10.50, or a total expenditure of $16.50. The returns 
totaled $35.55 ; the largest returns being from lettuce and 
from tomatoes. Thus a profit of $19.05 was secured upon 
the tenth-acre undertaking. While the returns in money 
were worth considering, this was really a secondary pur- 
pose, the chief purpose being to furnish a demonstra- 
tion garden for the model school. 

The possibilities of motive for high-school project 
work in agriculture are large. In a published letter, 
Director Stimson, of the Massachusetts Board of Edu- 
cation, said: — 

Recently I brought together items and totals for the ac- 
count of twenty-five boys; five from each of five representative 
points in the State where project work in agriculture has been 
in operation the past summer. I found that these boys had 
earned from farm work in connection with agricultural work 
in school in 1912 more than five thousand dollars ($5132.05). 
In this enterprise twenty-two of the boys earned more than 
$100. Twelve earned more than $200; one earned over $300; 
and another was within $5 of $300, while one earned $529.76. 
Of the three who earned less than $100, one was within $5 of 
the even figure. 

The boys in the Massachusetts work l are at least 
fourteen years of age, but their success indicates great 
possibilities along this line. The plans that are being put 
into operation in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois 
indicate that this type of agricultural work is sure to in- 

1 See U.S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin 8, 1914, "The Mas- 
sachusetts Home Project Work in Agriculture." 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 215 

crease. And it should. It takes the agriculture out of 
books and bulletins, and applies it on the farm and in 
the garden. It gives motive, and connects agriculture 
with life. 

Agriculture is now a required study in the schools of 
half the States of the Union. It has come in response to 
the practical demands of farmers, bankers, and business 
interests. Fortunately, it lends itself easily to concrete 
work and is easily motivated. It is having a good effect 
upon all other lines of school work. Except in a few of 
the Eastern States, it connects directly with the homes 
of a majority of the children. But even in the cities it 
has large informational value, and some time can be 
given to it profitably. In the hands of competent 
teachers in rural districts, it becomes the best organiz- 
ing center of school work and one of the best contacts 
with the home and community life. It is life. 

A partial list of the exercises in a preliminary course 
for rural teachers will tend to show the practical self- 
motivated nature of agriculture as a school subject. 
While these exercises deal with soils and plants, they 
are to be considered not from the standpoint of scien- 
tific knowledge only, but from the standpoint of the 
practical value of the knowledge gained. The pupil 
uses the knowledge directly in crop production, pos- 
sibly in a personal project. With this in mind, notice a 
brief list of exercises : — 

1. The effect of color of soil on temperature. 

2. Percolation of water down through the soil, rate in differ- 
ent soils. 

3. Capillary rise of water in soils of different types. 

4. Effect on capillarity of having a layer of organic matter 
or clods in the bottom of the furrow. 

5. To determine the manner in which water enters the tile 
drain. 



216 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

6. Moisture-holding capacity of soils. 

7. Effect on plant growth of water saturation of soil. 

8. The effect on structure of stirring soils when wet. 

9. Determining amount of air space in soil. 

10. Determining the weight of soils. 

11. The effect of freezing on structure of soil. 

12. Effect of lime, organic matter, or sand on structure of 
puddled clay soil. 

13. Determining the factors necessary for seed germination. 

14. The performing of cross-fertilization on a flower. 

15. Relation of moisture to seed germination. 

16. Relation of oxygen to seed germination. 

17. The effect on germination of removing the endosperm. 

18. Measuring the strength of roots in holding a plant to the 
ground. 

19. Determining the amount of water given off by leaves. 

20. Learning how and when the food is manufactured in the 
leaves. 

21. Demonstration of the acid secretion of roots. 

The above list of exercises may well serve a double 
purpose in this connection. They represent the correct 
type of agriculture for the rural schools, — the type 
based upon experimentation and doing things rather 
than reciting words from a book, — and they show the 
ease with which properly organized agriculture work is 
transferred directly to production and to life activities. 
Agriculture properly taught is largely self-motivated. 

Correlation. The motivated problem as a basis for 
school work naturally involves a great deal of cor- 
relation. If the pupils are working on a problem in which 
they are interested, they want to turn all of their ener- 
gies in that direction. The art, the manual training, the 
arithmetic, the reading, the language, can all be cen- 
tered on a single problem. This means, frequently, that 
the room teacher has a good deal to do with the direc- 
tion of the work of the special teacher in the city system 
where special teachers are provided for home economics, 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 217 

art, ©r other subjects. With the general introduction of 
the industrial subjects into the schools, there is coming 
a decided rearrangement which lends itself admirably 
to proper motivation of the work. Frequently, this 
involves the reorganization of the entire community 
and of the entire school curriculum. One rural school 
supervisor of home economics (Charles City County, 
Virginia) indicates her experience in thus reorganizing 
the spirit of the school and community as follows : — 

To create a demand on the part of the community for do- 
mestic economy was our first task. It has been said that the 
average farm woman gets up early in order to get breakfast 
early in order to wash the dishes early to get through and get 
dinner early in order to get supper early and finish the dishes 
in order to go to bed early, that she may get up early the next 
morning and repeat the process. You cannot teach all the 
children of all the people, unless all the people of all the chil- 
dren will let you. To teach a housewife that cooking bread and 
meat and a few vegetables in some kind of a way is not the aim 
or end of home economics; to overcome her many prejudices 
and to persuade her that it is possible so to plan and systema- 
tize her work that life may seem more worth living, is no small 
task. To this end the life of the neighborhood was organized 
with the schoolhouse as the center. There were farmers' 
unions, for the farmer; homemakers' clubs, for the farm wo- 
man; school improvement leagues for all; and boys' and girls' 
clubs for the boy and girl — all meeting at the schoolhouse and 
conducting their own meetings. 

A progressive, wide-awake county superintendent interested 
the school boards in building new model schoolhouses, consist- 
ing of classroom, cloak-room, and domestic-science room. The 
latter was equipped with an outfit. costing eighteen dollars, and 
consisted of an oil stove and oven, cooking-utensils, and dishes 
to serve six people. These were purchased by the school im- 
provement league. 

Plans and methods of teaching domestic science were dis- 
cussed at teachers' meetings and outlines of lessons given the 
teachers. The schools were visited every two or three weeks 
and model lessons taught for the teacher. 



218 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

But before this could be done, the program had to be rear- 
ranged. No teacher had over five grades and no high-school 
work was allowed. The recitations were cut to about half 
their previous number, and many traditional and time-hon- 
ored essentials went out of the window when domestic science 
entered at the door. Those left were reorganized, and instead 
of "arithmetic and adenoids, history and hookworm, civics 
and spinal curvature, Caesar and consumption," we planned to 
teach arithmetic and agriculture, history and home economics, 
civics and corn-growing, reading and rotation of crops, spelling 
and spraying, chemistry and cooking, literature and the art 
of right living. 

Which phases of home economics to attempt were questions 
we were early called upon to decide. In planning our program, 
we placed sanitation first on the list. A campaign was waged 
for cleanliness as the first essential: more fresh air, more and 
purer water, cleaner and more beautiful schoolhouses and 
homes, more paint and whitewash. Teachers were encouraged 
to keep health records showing number of pupils failing to 
brush teeth each morning, number having colds, wet feet, etc. 

The second essential was the preparation of some hot dish 
for the children's lunch and an organized noon hour, etc. 

Experiences similar to this are becoming common 
throughout the United States, particularly in connec- 
tion with the club work or home-project work in agricul- 
ture. The situation in Indiana is typical. Until two 
years ago, the industrial work was introduced only here 
and there as some school men, then considered a little 
more radical than was desirable, introduced the work. 
Since the passage of the industrial and vocational law 
two years ago, there has been a complete reorganiza- 
tion. In the rural communities, agriculture becomes the 
great center and organizing force for all of the school 
work. Club work or home-project work insures the 
carrying through the entire year of interesting under- 
takings which are in turn closely connected with and 
constantly used as a basis for reorganization of school 



THE MOTIVATION OF OTHER SUBJECTS 219 

work. As teachers realize the possibilities of under- 
taking worth-while problems in which the child himself 
becomes the chief mover and organizer, we may look for 
more and more correlation of the work in which school 
work shall not be simply an exercise in itself, but in- 
formation that performs a service in accomplishing some- 
thing worth while. 



CHAPTER XI 

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES A MEANS OF MOTIVATING 
THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 

The time of the school is used mainly in teaching the 
various subjects of study. In the preceding chapters it 
has been, therefore, the aim of the writers to help 
teachers in putting new life, keen interest, and motive 
into the teaching of the regular program of studies. To 
this end, emphasis has been placed on the greater value 
of school work which is organized about the actual 
needs and problems of pupils as compared with the 
usual type of formal textbook lessons. The treatment 
in the preceding chapters has purposely been organized 
around the regular school subjects. 

Using the social and competitive instincts. The con- 
tent of this chapter could have been so presented, but 
with the object of emphasizing one of the most fruitful 
sources of good motives, it seems important to show 
how the school activities afford excellent motives for 
the regular work of the school. In the following discus- 
sion we shall indicate concretely how the school as- 
sembly exercises, the athletic activities of the school, 
the publication of a school paper, and other interests 
afford strong motives for the many phases of school 
work. 

In every school where the social and competitive in- 
stincts are allowed reasonable freedom of expression, 
many activities in addition to those on the printed pro- 
gram are certain to develop. Likewise, in every school 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 221 

neighborhood in which there is sympathetic team-play 
between the school and the home, as well as between 
school and school, and the other educative influences of 
the community, various types of cooperative effort 
spring up. These forms of activity are not only valua- 
ble educative influences themselves, but under right 
leadership they also afford significant opportunities for 
motivating the school studies which the pupils should 
be pursuing. There is, therefore, every reason for en- 
couraging organized activities within the school and 
cooperative efforts between the school and the com- 
munity in the interest of making the educative oppor- 
tunities afforded by the school as varied and rich as is 
consistent with thoroughly good work in the funda- 
mentals. 

One energetic principal of an elementary school in a 
city system, in cooperation with the mothers' club of 
the school, held an annual school fair or bazaar, usually 
in the month of November. The apparent object al- 
ways was to raise money to finance some project, such 
as supplying good works of art for the beautifying of 
the rooms and corridors of the building, establishing a 
school library, equipping certain rooms in the building, 
beautifying the school property by grading and plant- 
ing it, and by locating the play apparatus in accordance 
with a landscape architect's plans. 

In this school, as must be true in any school if the 
work and machinery of executing such projects do not 
become objectionable, interfering seriously with the 
regular work of the school, the principal and teachers 
were primarily interested in each fair because it was the 
source of an almost countless number of opportunities 
for relating intimately the home and school and for 
motivating the children's school work. Instead of the 



222 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

fair being something external to the school under the 
guidance of the principal, the larger ends and objects 
sought, as distinguished from the purely monetary, 
became the purposes of the children. And well they 
might, since every undertaking had as its object the 
improvement of the advantages of the children of the 
school. In reality, therefore, the annual fair was a prod- 
uct of the combined efforts of the school-children and 
their teachers and mothers, in which all became actively 
concerned for its success. 

So definitely understood were the purposes of the 
fairs which the regular school work might aid that not 
only were the teachers able to originate useful plans and 
projects, but the children likewise made many practical 
suggestions for the improvement of the bazaars. While 
the combined interest and help of all rendered these 
efforts more successful, the largest gains to the school 
resulted from the work which the children did upon 
problems derived from aiding the bazaars, which were 
genuinely real to them. The children in every grade 
were able to do something which needed to be done and 
which they were eager to do. At the close of one bazaar 
the principal's diary showed the children had aided in 
these ways : — 

The first grade had made paper chains for use in decorating 
the candy-booths and small, decorated paper baskets for dis- 
pensing salted peanuts. The second grade had made small 
paper-receivers for use in serving salt and nuts with the meals 
served at the bazaar. In one of their language lessons, the 
third-grade children aided the candy committee by composing 
a note, which they duplicated many times in the writing 
period, asking the mothers to donate sugar. There were many 
things the children of the other grades could do. The boys 
made such articles for sale at the fair as shoe-polishers, clock- 
shelves, picture frames, easel photograph-holders. The girls 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 223 

furnished for sale linen bags, wash-cloths, combing-jackets, 
sofa pillows, table-runners, hemstitched towels, tilo matting 
mats, hand-embroidered cardcases, sewing-bags. The boys 
also made the wood blocks which the girls used in stenciling 
their sewing-bags. 

Because the principal and teachers of this school were 
capable of discovering in these annual efforts of the 
mothers' club opportunities for the children to aid in 
things they were anxious to do, all became active and 
helpful. The children were anxious to help. They needed 
no persuading. The teacher's function in each grade 
was mainly to afford the children an opportunity to 
work upon problems which would properly further their 
educational development. The result was that for five 
or six weeks, near the opening of each school year, the 
children were at work upon a large number of problems 
of absorbing interest. They were not mere school tasks 
assigned them from textbooks. They were real social 
and business problems which the children were defi- 
nitely concerned in solving. The various class exercises 
contributed, as was appropriate, to the solution of each 
problem attempted, with the result that sewing, manual 
training, drawing, writing, arithmetic, and composition 
each afforded the children an opportunity to work 
under the stimulus of strong motives for attainment. 

All projects for raising money l to be expended for 

1 The tax-paying public has as yet scarcely reached the point of 
view which sanctions the expenditure, by boards of education, of 
public funds for such equipment as play apparatus, works of art for 
the decoration of school-buildings, Victrolas, pianos, stereopticons, 
moving-picture machines, and the like. All of these are so valuable in 
the work of the school, however, that enterprising communities are 
determined to provide them for the use of the schools in the instruc- 
tion of their children. Such worthy ends lead to various projects for 
making money. Rightly managed, many by-products of great value 
for the school are secured. So long as due care is exercised not to rob 
the regular work of the school of its, proper amount of time and atten- 



224 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

the improvement of the school facilities, which are of 
such character that the children may contribute to them 
in the course of their legitimate school work, afford ex- 
cellent motives for the children's efforts. The general 
nature of these efforts and their possibilities for moti- 
vation are well illustrated above. Not only fairs afford 
desirable motives, but entertainments consisting of sim- 
ple original plays, musical programs, and miscellaneous 
exercises, all afford genuine motives for producing the 
results embodied in the programs. 

The school assembly. One of the largest and most 
important features of any school which is well unified 
and rationally enthusiastic is the school assembly. If it 
is profitable and successful, it must be conducted by 
teachers and students cooperating both in planning 
and in developing the programs for the assembly exer- 
cises. Many schools find the assembly exercise so valu- 
able that the program provides for its daily occurrence. 

The Francis W. Parker School devoted one of its 
Year-Books to the "morning exercise," the entire faculty 

tion, money-raising projects not being allowed to interrupt the regular 
serious work of the school, it can hardly be objected to if by-products 
of the work of the school are sold at their approximate money value. 
Especially is this true if the money realized goes to worthy ends, and 
if the object of producing a marketable product serves both to arouse 
the pupil to increased interest in his work and to direct his attention 
to the essential features of a usable product. The nearer the school 
has approached to producing practical, usable products in its manual 
and household arts courses, the larger has been the motive of the pu- 
pils in the work, with resulting increased attainment both in skill de- 
veloped and in results produced. Care merely needs to be exercised 
as indicated above. It would be a serious mistake for any school to 
be concerned throughout the year with helping to put on a series of 
bazaars. The motives derived from just one such undertaking per 
year, if the primary concern of the teaching staff is to vitalize the 
work of the pupils rather than to make money, will do much to make 
all corresponding problems and lines of work met at other times in 
the year seem worth while. 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 225 

of the school cooperating in the production of the Y ear- 
Book. In this school, the "morning exercise," as it is 
called, preserving Colonel Parker's terminology, occurs 
daily. When this school was founded, many of its 
teachers, who had worked with Colonel Parker in the 
"old Normal School," felt that the morning exercise was 
as essential to the idea of a school as was a curriculum. 
It is "fundamentally social in purpose," and is "called 
the pulse of the school, registering unfailingly our social 
condition and welfare." Since October, 1905, com- 
mittees representing the students and faculty have 
worked cooperatively for the improvement of this fea- 
ture of the school. 

That a very high standard of usefulness has been 
realized in this exercise by the Francis W. Parker 
School may be seen from a casual examination of the 
Year-Booh l devoted to this topic. Since the programs 
for the morning exercise are usually the outcome of 
classroom work in the various school subjects, or in 
celebration of some festival or historical event, the mo- 
tives afforded for the regular work of the school are both 
manifold and potent. The children of the school realize 
the character of work which may be presented and the 
degree of excellence it should evidence to be creditable. 
They likewise realize that it is a distinct recognition to 
be allowed to provide the program for a morning exer- 
cise. Every group is, therefore, constantly watchful of 
its daily work to discover some product adapted for use 
in the school assembly. Having discovered it, they file 
their request to be called upon with the proper com- 
mittee of the school. At times, of course, the morning- 
exercise committee is in need of a special program and 

1 The Morning Exercise as a Socializing Influence, by the faculty of 
the Francis W. Parker School (Chicago, 1913). 



226 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

invites contributions; but the children realize that the 
most meritorious work offered must finally be chosen 
for use. In part as a result of the motive of producing 
work meriting use in the morning exercise, good work and 
high standards of attainment have become the fashion 
among the students of the school. 

The variety in the programs presented shows the ex- 
tent to which the assembly touches every aspect of the 
school's efforts, motivating not only the children's at- 
tainments in classroom work, but likewise their realiza- 
tion of the school's standards in attendance and con- 
duct. Any grade and any subject may provide the 
morning-exercise program. In the Year-Booh the pro- 
grams reported are distributed throughout the school 
from the first grade to the classes of the high school. 
Literature, arithmetic, geography, history, nature- 
study, physics, chemistry, Latin, art, music, and physi- 
cal education were all drawn upon for program ma- 
terial. Some programs were designed especially to mo- 
tivate right social conduct and the adequate bearing of 
responsibility, the aim being to unify the school com- 
munity by the discussion of common purposes and re- 
lationships. Under this guiding purpose, the children 
and faculty discuss freely together questions of school 
administration, and thus the children are brought into 
close contact with the principles and policies of the 
school. 

That the school assembly with its rich values need not 
be confined to private schools or to schools employ- 
ing only especially gifted teachers, but that it is possi- 
ble in any school in which the teachers understand its 
function, is clearly evidenced by its effective use in all 
types of schools working under all sorts of conditions 
throughout this country. The following quotation from 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 227 

an article by the principal of a four-room school 1 is 
a good statement of procedure in the school assembly 
with suggestions in reference to the guiding purposes 
and the results secured : — 

The general plan of the exereises, which are held the first 
forty minutes of each Monday morning, is as follows : — 

A devotional period led by some room, attendance report of 
different rooms, and the awarding of the school pennant to the 
one having the highest per cent; the presentation of the best 
work done, such as songs, poems, letters, compositions, dra- 
matizations, reading, etc.; talk by the principal in which she 
strives to present some vital truth in such way as to influence 
conduct and stimulate the children to live up to their higher, 
truer selves. The entire school assembles in the auditorium 
(often the lower corridor was used instead) and remains 
quietly standing until after the brief devotions. Some grade is 
always ready to give the devotional song and poem, the entire 
school gives the scriptural reference, and then with bowed 
head prays the Lord's Prayer. 

The school then is seated tailor fashion on the floor, eager 
and anxious to see what is going to happen. Which grade will 
have the highest record in attendance and the fewest tardi- 
nesses and carry off to their room the beloved school pennant? 
If it is the first of the month, what room is to be made even 
more beautiful by having in it the colored picture of "Au- 
tumn," which so rests one to look at when little hands and 
eyes are tired? 

How much glory to the little second-graders this morning 
when they have succeeded, after such a struggle with sore 
throats, measles, and even scarlet fever, in not only having the 
highest record for the week just passed, but for the month, too, 
and having both picture and pennant assigned to their room. 
With much friendliness, the pennant changes hands and the 
others give them a rousing clap ; but declare that they won't be 
able to keep it long, because they are working, too, and intend 
to take it from them. As a result of this friendly, spirited con- 
test,, we have had no cases of truancy and almost no absences 
caused by other reasons than sickness. 

1 See an article by Sarah Mark Imboden, in School and Home Edu- 
cation (May, 1909), pp. 332-38. 



228 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Following the attendance report and the awarding of the 
school pennant, the presentation of work is given. All meri- 
torious dramatizations in the various rooms are re-given before 
the entire school at assembly; also the best of the oral and 
written compositions. Not only have we found it a legiti- 
mate motive, but one which appeals strongly to the children. 
We have often found them, after having done something 
unusually well, asking if it may be given at the next assem- 
bly. f 

It is probably in the little talk by the principal, however, 
that the school is most closely united, as she attempts to 
develop, through stories and actual life situations, the ideals 
of conduct on which the school as a social institution should 
be based. 

In so far as possible or advisable, the children have discussed 
and largely determined what their mode of conduct shall be as 
members of the school with the higher motives we are striving 
for in view. Their ideas and plans may not always be right, it 
is true, but they can be led to see why the course they may 
wish to pursue is neither the wise, safe, nor just one. Too often 
when a child in good faith asks for an explanation of some edict 
just issued he has received a reply similar to this: "Whether 
you see or not makes no difference; it is to be so and so. If you 
do not choose to conduct yourself accordingly, you must abide 
by the consequences." How often we take advantage of the 
powerlessness of the child and treat him with a rudeness and 
discourtesy that we should be ashamed to exhibit to our 
adult friends. We may judge by our own sensations just 
how a child is affected by a corresponding manner of treat- 
ment. 

As Dewey says, "A child should have a positive conscious- 
ness of what he is about, and be able to criticize his respective 
acts from the standpoint of their reference to the work which 
he has to do." 

Our standards of conduct, therefore, have, as I said, been 
freely discussed and determined at our assembly periods. 
Most of the talks have been based upon some memory gem 
given to the children. Being exceedingly fortunate in our 
teachers, we have found that the thought, carried on and en- 
larged by them through the week, has been greatly instrumen- 
tal in controlling and moulding the conduct of the pupils. 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 229 

Having no pupils above the fifth grade, we have found 
it best to gain attention and present the truth through a 
story. 

And so I might go on indefinitely and show how much has 
been gained in self-control, carefulness in little things, cour- 
tesy, prompt and cheerful obedience, disposition to play 
fair. 

We feel that assembling together has resulted in creating a 
deep earnest feeling that "every one is for every one else." 
Even among teachers it is not "my boys and girls and your 
boys and girls," but " ours." 

Large motive is supplied for all phases of high-school 
work which may result in products suitable for use at 
the assembly exercises of the school if the principal or 
program committee has the custom of deriving a portion 
of the assembly programs from such sources. There is no 
subject in the high school from which suitable material 
may not be profitably developed for such use. Likewise, 
there are many questions of social ideals and conduct 
and of scholastic and disciplinary standards which are 
well suited for profitable treatment by the students in 
meetings of the entire school. If the student body thus 
participates in the consideration of such problems, not 
only is the effort before the assembly highly motivated, 
but the effort necessary to realize the required standards 
is also definitely motivated. 

The following program presented in high-school as- 
sembly when the National Vocational Guidance Asso- 
ciation was in session in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 
October, 1913, is typical of the program which high- 
school students are capable of providing: — 



£30 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORE 

ASSEMBLY 

Central High School Auditorium 

Nine o'clock 

Presiding Officer, Henry Sprietsma 

Speaker of High School 

House of Representatives 

Selection by High School Orchestra 
Directed by Leo Ruckle, Student 

The Work of the Junior Association of Commerce 
Dawson Spurier, President 

Student Activities and Social Efficiency 

Margaret Robinson 
Representing Girls' Leadership Club 

Training for Leadership 

Harry Hoogesteger 

Representing Boys' Leadership Club 

The Use of Moving Pictures in Vocational Guidance 
A Demonstration 

Another program of an unusually profitable and in- 
spiriting school assembly is the following, which was 
given during the summer session of the Kirks viile, 
Missouri, State Normal School. President John R. Kirk 
wished to demonstrate to the normal school students 
some of the results which the children in the various 
grades of the practice school were achieving in their 
work. From the standpoint of the children, his object 
was to recognize the meritorious results their efforts 
had procured. Partly due to the inspiration of knowing 
they would be called upon for such a program, the chil- 
dren had been working very hard, and their pleasure in 
sharing the results of their efforts with over a thousand 
mature students was undeniable. Every number except 
the last was contributed by the practice-school children, 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 2SI 

some three hundred of them taking part with fine aban- 
don and unconscious enthusiasm. 

Program 

Songs 

Birdie with a Yellow Bill . . | F . , . /-ti M j 

t .„, „ . j r Kindergarten Children 

Little Raindrops J 

Song 

Bobby Shafto First Grade 

Song 

An Early Cowslip Second and Third Grades 

March Kindergarten Band 

Norwegian Folk-Dance 

The Mountain March First, Second, Third Grades 

Music for dance supplied by piano and kindergarten band 

Bohemian Clapping Dance Upper-Grade Girls 

Straddle Ball Relay Race Upper-Grade Boys 

Physical culture drill 

The Sword Dance Upper-Grade Girls 

Songs 

What from. Vengeance (Lucia di ) 

Lammermoor) (Donizetti) r Normal School Sextet 

Miserere (II Trovatore) (Verdi) . . . . ) 

The programs and exercises required for special days, 
seasonal festivals, and anniversary occasions provide all 
the values and opportunities for the work of the school 
that are afforded by the morning assembly. If proper 
care is taken to vary these programs in the various 
grades and from year to year, they are intensely inter- 
esting and very valuable. Most good schools make pro- 
vision for the proper observance of all or many of the 
following: Discovery Day, Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, 
Christmas, St. Valentine's Day, Easter, Arbor and Bird 
Day, Memorial Day, and the birthdays of great Ameri- 
cans, such as Washington, Lincoln, Longfellow, Frances 
E. Willard. Different communities and States observe 
other days also because of their special local significance. 



232 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

The state departments of education in many States 
issue beautifully illustrated booklets suggesting pro- 
grams of value appropriate for use in the celebration 
of various special days and occasions. A few city school 
systems have worked out graded programs with care. 
It seems unnecessary, therefore, to illustrate by quoting 
typical programs. The important thing stressed here 
is that these programs should grow out of the regular 
work of the school and afford large motives for attain- 
ment in those exercises and subjects of the school which 
contribute to these special programs. 

In every school where the teaching staff realizes its 
possibilities, the children have the benefit of developing 
suitable programs for accepting and dedicating the gifts 
which are presented to the school from time to time. 
Until the social point of view became dominant in re- 
cent years, such gifts were accepted ordinarily by some 
official of the school; but no corps of teachers who realize 
the values resulting to children from such participation 
would think of omitting them from a part in such rec- 
ognition as the bestowal of a gift seemed to require. 
Not only does such participation accustom the children 
to be thoughtful in responding to courteous treatment, 
but it also trains them in the details of good social 
usage. If the gift is sufficient to render a dedicatory 
program appropriate, it affords the children experience 
with the nature and details of a ceremonial exercise. It 
is evident that the motive for developing every feature 
of an appropriate program for accepting or dedicating a 
gift would be very genuine. It is inexcusable to with- 
hold from the children the inspiration of working toward 
such definite and genuine ends. 

The following program was presented before a large 
meeting of the patrons of a school on the occasion of 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 233 

dedicating a new Edison phonograph. Advantage was 
taken of the occasion to illustrate to the patrons the 
various types of music work done in the elementary 
schools and the musical ability of the children. Brief 
explanations by the supervisor of music as the program 
progressed helped to increase the pleasure and profit to 
all: — 

Program 
I. Songs and folk-games 

1. First Grade 

When the Regiment Goes Marching By — Gaynor 
When the Little Children Sleep — Reinecke 
Minuet — French Folk Games 

2. Second Grade 

The Raindrops and Bouncing Ball 

The Shoemaker s Dance (with record) — Danish Folk- 
Dance 

3. Third Grade 

The Shell — Adam 

Kull Dansen (with record) — Swedish Folk-Dance 
The Postilion — Taubert 
II. Study of American composers and American folk-songs 

1. Fourth Grade 

The Mill — Nevin 

Narcissus (story and record) — Nevin 

Little Boy Blue — Nevin 

2. Fifth Grade 

The Swing (with folk-game) — Nevin 

3. Sixth Grade 

The Star-Spangled Banner 

America 

The Old Folks at Home 

III. Folk-Songs of other nations 

1. Seventh Grade 

The Hardy Norseman — Norse song 
Santa Lucia — Italian Song 

IV. Selections from great composers - 

1. Eighth Grade 

Spring Song — Mendelssohn 
Pirates' Chorus — Sullivan 

Athletic events and school societies. The athletic 
events of the school and the activities growing out of 



234 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

the work in physical education, often culminating at 
the close of the year in a physical education exhibit, 
exercise a wonderfully stimulating influence in the school, 
if rightly managed and if properly related to the entire 
work of the school. The play and competitive elements 
in these activities render them very attractive to chil- 
dren. If participation in public exhibitions and con- 
tests is conditioned upon maintaining high scholastic 
standing in the other work of the school, the athletic 
activities of the children supply good motives for the 
other phases of school work. 

The activities of the literary societies, the debating 
teams, the dramatic clubs, and of the other school or- 
ganizations afford sources of excellent motive for the 
regular work of the school. Not only may membership 
in these organizations be conditioned upon maintaining 
a high standard in the regular studies of the school; but 
those subjects may be so organized as to enable the stu- 
dents to work upon their duties in these voluntary or- 
ganizations while preparing their daily lessons. The 
work in English and in the social sciences may often be 
highly motivated if it is thus related to these so-called 
out-of-class interests of the students. 

Many school systems so organize and manage the 
school exhibits that the children manifest great interest 
in the exhibits throughout the year. If the school ex- 
hibit is made a means of representing constantly the 
best types and standards of work which have been 
achieved from grade to grade in the various subjects, the 
children become deeply interested in trying to improve 
over the work they have on exhibition that they may 
replace it with better results. They also become greatly 
concerned to produce some type of work worthy of ex- 
hibition which is not yet represented in the exhibit. 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 235 

Many schools also supplement the usual type of ex- 
hibit with a living exhibit during the hours the public 
are inspecting the work. Since only the best results may 
be used in such a program, a large motive is supplied for 
the types of school work from which the numbers on 
such programs are derived. Following is a typical pro- 
gram which was presented in the auditorium of the 
building in which the central exhibit of the schools was 
held. Practically all of the schools in this system were 
represented in the programs. The programs were 
largely attended and thus the exhibit reached a much 
larger number of the citizens than would have been 
possible if these programs had been omitted. 

Program 

Wednesday, May 26, 745 p.m. 

Music Garfield School Orchestra 

Wig- Wag Drill First Grade, Lowman Hill School 

Dramatization — Pony Express — Why the Sea is Salt 

Third Grade, Lafayette High School 
Songs — The Raindrop's Message, Round and Round We 're Going, 

The Brownies Third Grade, Monroe School 

Swedish Weaving Game Fourth Grade, Sumner School 

Piano Solo — ■ Fantasia in D Minor (Mozart) 

Eleanor Allen, Van Buren School 

Wand Drill Sixth Grade, Lincoln School 

Songs — Voices of the Woods, Maybells and Flowers, God of the Nations 
Fifth and Sixth Grades, Van Buren School 

Advanced Gymnastics Seventh Grade, Clay School 

Exercise — Old King Cole Eighth Grade, Sumner School 

Maypole Dance Eighth Grade, Washington School 

Thursday, May 27, 745 p.m. 

Trio for Violin, Cornet, and Piano .... Eighth Grade, Branner School 
Henry Mason, Bernice Sprague, Ardis Wolverton 

Highland Fling Sheldon Kindergarten, Buchanan School 

Songs — In Germany, What the Robin Sings 

Second Grade, Polk School 
Dramatization — The Muffin Man . . Third Grade, Van Buren School 



236 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Trio for Violin, 'Cello and Piano. Polk School 

Bernice Turner, Louise Turner, Mrs. P. D. Turner 
Songs — The Drum, Branner School Song 

Fourth Grade, Branner School 

Military Drill Fifth Grade, State Street School 

Songs — Gypsy Birthdays, Under Our Old Umbrella, Kansas Song (New) 

Fifth A Grade, Grant School 

Pyramid Building Boys, Central Park School 

Songs of Springtime and Dances of the Seasons 

Girls of Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grades, Central 
Park School 

Friday, May 28, 745 p.m. 

Music Quincy School Orchestra 

Dramatization — Pop Goes the Weasel 

First and Second Grades, McKinley School 
Dramatization — Sleeping Beauty .... Kindergarten, Parkdale School 
Songs — In Japan, The Rose, The Bluebird 

First Grade, Washington School 

Hoop Drill Second Grade, Harrison School 

Free Hand Gymnastics Third Grade, Harrison School 

Songs — The Nightingale, Dawn and Sunset, To a Honey Bee 

Fifth A Grade, Lafayette School 

Reading Esther Freeman, High School 

Indian Club Drill Seventh and Eighth Grades, Potwin School 

Songs — The Beautiful Blue Danube, The Dancers 

Eighth Grade, Quincy School 
Drill Girls, High School 

The school paper. One of the most valuable things a 

school can do in vitalizing the regular work of the school 

and in providing excellent training facilities on its own 

account is to publish a school paper. In recent years this 

undertaking is almost universal in high schools and is 

becoming quite common in large elementary schools. 

If a printing-plant is provided by the school so that the 

children may print 1 their publication, the values are 

largely increased. As yet, however, most schools do not 

possess well-equipped printing-plants, but must have 

1 We are not concerned here with the values of teaching printing 
as a phase of manual training. Our interest is especially in the gains 
to the regular work of the school from preparing and issuing a school 
paper. 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 237 

their papers printed by commercial plants. Usually the 
printing must be paid for. There are many instances, 
however, where the local daily paper has printed the 
school news under a title chosen by the school, giving 
as much as a half page or more of space in some regu- 
lar issue. The possibilities and values from publishing 
a school newspaper in the columns of a regular daily are 
so well set forth in a recent article in School and Home 
Education x that we quote from it fully. This article 
describes a plan whereby each elementary school pub- 
lished one issue of its paper each semester in the 
columns of the local paper. 

The following types of work are recommended as specially 
suited to the different grades. Freedom is given to deviate 
from these recommendations. They are suggestive only. 

Grade One 

I. Paper-cutting 

A. School activities 
1. Play ground 
£. Garden 

3. Regular classroom work 
II. Provide activities which may be reported by older 
children 
Grade Two 

I. Rhymes (original) 
II. Riddles (original) 
Grade Three 
I. Games 

II. Report of hand work 
III. Nature Study 
Grade Four 

I. Advertisements 

A. Wanted 

B. For Sale 

C. Lost and Found 

1 Katharine Hamilton, "English Training through the School 
Newspaper," School and Home Education (April, 1915). 



238 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Grade Five 

I. Advertisements 

A. Bakery sales 

B. May f£tes 

C. Wiener roasts 

D. School fairs 

E. Exhibits 

1. School 

2. Public 
Grade Six 

I. Study rhyme, rhythm, feet, etc. 

A. Class poem, as class composition work 
II. News in brief 
Grade Seven 

I. Editorials 

A. Self Government 

B. School Spirit 

1. Loyalty 

%. Cooperation, etc. 

C. The School Playground as a Social Center, etc. 
II. Ears (keynote of entire paper) 

1. Vital interests of school 

2. Suitable proverbs or school mottoes 
III. Proof-reading 

Grade Eight 

I. Any and all phases of the paper. 

This work has been valuable to the school from several 
viewpoints. The greatest good, it seems, has been derived from 
the fact that terse, clear, brief, concise and pointed English 
must be used in good newspaper articles. The training in 
relative values in this work is concrete and effective. The 
choice made of articles to use with consideration of the inter- 
ests of the readers of the paper trains in judgment as well as in 
relative values. The selection of effective headings, sub-head- 
ings, etc., is the result of careful observation, discussion, and 
thinking, if it is well done. 

The following letter from the editor of The Review to 
the superintendent of schools shows his wish so to co- 
operate in managing the undertaking as to afford the 
pupils the largest possible values from their work: — 



MOTIVATING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL 239 

The Review hereby invites the schools of Decatur to prepare 
papers to be published in The Review again this year. 

These papers, like the school papers in other years, should 
be newspapers for their schools, made up according to the 
ideas of the pupils of what a newspaper should be. 

News of the school, of the pupils, or any miscellaneous mat- 
ter that it might be thought proper to include, should make up 
the paper. 

Preparing the paper will be a good drill in English. Publi- 
cation in The Review adds to the interest and importance of 
the work in the eyes of the pupils. 

It is the desire of The Review to have, if possible, one of 
these papers to publish each Saturday, until each school has 
had two papers. One half a page in The Review will be given 
to each school paper. 

A name should be selected by the pupils or teachers for the 
paper of each school. 

It is suggested that if the pupils select their own boards of 
editors, with committees, or other groups to give opportunity 
for connecting as many pupils as possible with the paper, the 
work will be made more interesting and helpful. However, the 
whole organization will be left with the principal and teachers 
of each school to work out as they find most satisfactory. 

The Review will be glad to arrange a personal interview to 
explain the plan more fully. This may be arranged by tele- 
phone. 

With no expense at all to the school, great good may 
be brought to the pupils of any community from pub- 
lishing a paper by the plan set forth above. Not only 
are the direct gains from the undertaking quite worth 
while, but the motivation secured for all subjects af- 
fected is vitally important. 

It should be evident from the above discussion that it 
is highly important to plan the work of the school not 
only from the standpoint of the subjects of study, but 
from that of the athletic, social, and literary interests of 
the pupils. A proper appreciation of the significance of 
these interests and of the activities resulting therefrom 



240 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

enables the teacher to motivate highly many phases of 
the work of her pupils in mastering their school studies. 
The great need in vitalizing school work is more think- 
ing and planning on the part of teachers and supervisors 
in terms of social situations and practical undertakings 
on the part of pupils rather than such exclusive thinking 
and planning in terms of the pages and chapters of the 
textbooks in use. Motive for the use of textbooks be- 
comes much stronger if pupils need to use and master 
them in solving important problems and in handling 
successfully some practical undertaking. 



CHAPTER XII 

MOTIVATION AND EFFICIENCY 1 

Efficiency and progress. One of the most noteworthy 
things in modern progress is the development of scien- 
tific management in almost every walk of life. Efficiency 
is everywhere the cry. Factory, office, home, and school 
alike strive for the maximum of accomplishment with 
the minimum of effort. Through its aid industrial enter- 
prises determine to a fraction of a cent the cost of every 
bit of raw material, every process of manufacture, and 
the value of every employee's service; the office increases 
its output and lowers its overhead; the housewife cal- 
culates the family income and graduates accordingly 
the family expenses; the city checks its payroll and 
eliminates the traditional " pork-barrel." Scientific 
management saves even such apparently trifling things 
as the number of steps taken by the workman between 
bench and lathe, and accurately weighs the cost of a new 
adding machine as against the cost of the errors made 
by the bookkeeper's fallible human brain. Time, we 
now realize, is money; and the efficiency engineer has 
saved a vast amount of both for the world. 

1 In some respects this chapter is a summary; in other respects 
it is a prophecy. The authors have considered it worth while to close 
the discussion of Motivation with a chapter that unifies the work of 
the entire book and points to the possibilities of the future. In this 
connection, they solicit the cooperation of progressive teachers 
throughout the nation. Multiplied illustrations of motivated work are 
needed. If such illustrations are supplied to the authors, it will per- 
mit them to be of service in further developing this important detail 
of school practice. 



242 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

Shortly after the success of scientific management in 
the commercial world was recognized, scientific investi- 
gators in the field of education began to transfer its 
terminology to the problems of educational management 
and direction. 1 As a result, the scientific movement 
in education which is so fundamental to the new educa- 
tion, has been greatly stimulated and accelerated. As in 
the case of the factory, this movement attempts to de- 
fine clearly the precise results which may be reasonably 
expected at every stage of the pupils' progress through 
the schools, 2 to indicate the materials of instruction and 
the types of experience necessary to secure those results, 
and to determine the best types of organization and 
methods of work. The aim of scientific education is to 
secure the maximum results in all school work with the 
minimum expenditure of time, energy, and money. 

Motivation the agent. The basic idea of this move- 
ment for school efficiency is the more adequate motiva- 
tion of school work. The difference between motivated 
and motiveless work is the difference between a gang of 
expert masons building a wall and a gang of convicts 
moving a pile of stone from one end of the prison yard 
to the other in order to move it back again, because the 
warden thinks they ought to be busy. The improvement 
which scientific education brings to the school gives the 

1 See "Some General Principles of Management Applied to the 
Problems of City School Systems," by Bobbitt, Year-Book of the 
National Society for the Study of Education, vol. 12, part i. 

2 It is becoming rather common for elementary-school courses of 
study to base the amount of results teachers are expected to secure 
on such accepted standards as those of Courtis and Stone in arithme- 
tic, of Ayres and Buckingham in spelling, of Thorndike and Ayres in 
handwriting, and of others in reading, drawing, and composition. 
For a definite list of attainment requirements see Courtis's discussion 
of "Standard Rates in Reading," Year-Book of the National Society 
for the Study of Education, vol. 14, part I, pp. 56-58. 



MOTIVATION AND EFFICIENCY 243 

children a reason for their work and makes their tasks 
seem really worth while. 

The problem of establishing this motivation is the 
problem with which this book has dealt. It is by no 
means a problem solved; in fact, it is a problem on which 
most progressive teachers are working to-day, profiting 
by their experience, learning by their mistakes. It is 
only through their work that scientific education can 
gather its facts and evolve its conclusions; for the stand- 
ards it sets up for the pupils' attainments at, say, the 
end of the sixth grade, cannot be determined deductively 
and abstractly. They must be determined in the light 
of society's needs, upon the basis of what pupils working 
under normal conditions have done. They must be 
realizable, tangible ends, recognized as such alike by 
the student and the teacher. The scales provided by 
scientific education, to which frequent reference has 
been made in the preceding chapters, are not hard-and- 
fast requirements, but rather a sort of mental yardstick 
by which the student may measure his progress toward 
the desired ends. This was pointed out in the discussion 
of writing, and the motivation value noted. 

The elimination of the useless. Education is no 
longer regarded as an ornament for the few, but as a 
tool for the many. Consequently, one of the first tasks 
which scientific management has to face is the elimina- 
tion of a considerable mass of dead and obsolete mate- 
rial from our courses of study. 1 The spelling of thou- 

1 See the following publications for illustrations of definite recom- 
mendations in such elimination: Part i, vol. 14, Year-Book of the Na- 
tional Society for the Study of Education (University of Chicago 
Press); Report of the Committee on Elementary Course of Study of 
the Minnesota Educational Association, March, 1914 (Bulletin no. 
51, Department of Education, Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota); 
Report of the Committee on Elimination of Subject-Matter (an edu- 
cational bulletin by the Iowa State Teachers' Association, Novem- 
ber, 1915), State Department of Education, Des Moines, Iowa. 



244 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

sands of words meaningless to the children, with most 
of which the children will never be familiar enough to 
write, is being displaced by the policy of providing a 
small list of words which belong to the pupil's written 
vocabulary. 1 These they will use and should learn to 
spell correctly. Many topics in arithmetic 2 which for- 
merly received hours of patient study and mechanical 
recitation are either entirely omitted, or are given but 
the briefest notice, because the children have no basis 
of experience for their study and are not likely to need 
them in mature life. Similar modifications are taking 
place in music, technical grammar, physiology and hy- 
giene, manual training, domestic science, physics, chem- 
istry, and other subjects. Only that content is being 
retained which is significant to the children in the 
successive stages of their development and which will 
probably be serviceable to them in their maturity, 
for this is the only sort of content which contributes 
sufficiently to the realization of the ends set up for 
attainment. 

Aristippus, the Greek philosopher, in answer to the 
question, " What should the child be taught? " replied, 
" A child should be taught those things that he will 
need to know when he is a man." This is a funda- 
mental principle. The schools should prepare for life. 
It remained, however, for the modern world under the 

1 See Ayres's A Measuring Scale for Ability in Spelling, E 139, 
Division of Education Publications of the Russell Sage Foundation 
(New York, 1915); Buckingham's Spelling Ability, Its Measurement 
and Distribution, no. 59, Teachers College, Columbia University Pub- 
lications (New York, 1913); Jones's Concrete Investigation of the Mate- 
rial of English Spelling (University of South Dakota, 1913); also 
Pryor's "Spelling," chap. 6, part i, vol. 14, Y ear-Book of the National 
Society for the Study of Education (University of Chicago Press, 
1915). 

8 See chapter rx on " Arithmetic." 



MOTIVATION AND EFFICIENCY 245 

leadership of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Dewey, to arrive 
at a conclusion equally fundamental: "The school is 
life." That is to say, the schools must prepare for life 
in terms of childhood, in terms of interests and motives 
which dominate child life. In other words, the only 
content which should be allowed in the course of study 
is that which has a definite meaning for the children 
while they are studying it, and which will probably be 
serviceable to them in their mature years. No other 
content is worth the time spent on its mastery. More- 
over, the omission of the obsolete material x leaves room 
for new and vital material which is visibly useful and 
therefore easily motivated. 

Efficiency applied to organization. Further, the organ- 
ization, methods, and procedure of the school must be 
those most effective in producing the results sought. 
Scientific management is rapidly extending the period 
of secondary education down to the sixth grade, and 
producing many other marked changes in the organiza- 
tion and methods of colleges and secondary schools. It 
is also causing a reexamination of the entire teaching 
process, based on a more accurate diagnosis of the diffi- 
culties of children in learning. Radical changes in 
periods of work and rest have been inaugurated in some 
school systems. The use of the school plant during the 
entire day and evening, instead of for only a few hours 
a day, is another change worth noting; and there are 
many others, some obviously valuable, others still in 
the experimental stage. 

Perhaps the greatest thing that the efficiency move- 
ment has done is that it has broken up the crust of tradi- 

1 This accounts for the enrichment of the modern curriculum and 
the inclusion of industrial and commercial subjects as well as new 
cultural subjects. 



246 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

tion. No longer can a thing be done simply because it 
always has been done so. Content, organization, tech- 
nique of teaching — all phases of education must prove 
their right to exist. Each must show clearly that it 
is most serviceable in securing the ends sought. No 
longer can teachers or superintendents answer the 
question, " Why do you teach formal grammar? " by 
saying, " Because Lindley Murray did." The public is 
not interested in that excellent grammarian. It asks, 
" But do the children understand it? Does it really 
teach them to speak and write better English? Is it the 
most efficient way to teach them to speak and write 
better English? " And unless the teacher and superin- 
tendent can answer " Yes," and prove it, formal gram- 
mar must drop out of the course of study. The world 
is too full of valuable things for the child to waste 
time learning that which has little or no value. 

The value of the child's time. As never before, edu- 
cational leaders are realizing that the school time of 
every child must count for the most possible in his edu- 
cational development. The years between six and six- 
teen are among the most important of an individual's 
life, and every hour of them should be made to count 
in developing a strong body and obtaining an efficient 
mental equipment. Therefore the program of work 
and the methods employed must be such as will enlist 
his interest and active attention, regardless of the com- 
petition set up by commercial inducements or outside 
amusements. Not only must the work of the school be 
intrinsically worth while, but it must be so presented as 
to satisfy the real needs of the child. Children are much 
like adults in that they do what they like to do, and 
time spent in presenting school work in such form that 
it is personally vital is far from wasted. 



MOTIVATION AND EFFICIENCY 247 

Therefore the doctrine of motivation in school work 
stands for so organizing every detail of the course that 
it shall be as interesting, attractive, and impelling to 
children as it is possible to make it. If as a result we 
succeed in making the school tasks appeal with increas- 
ing force to children, many gains follow, all of which con- 
tribute to that efficiency which is the concern of modern 
scientific education. 

Establishing concentration. It must be borne in mind 
that motivated work focuses the child's whole attention, 
with all his past experiences and interests, upon the ac- 
complishment of the new task in hand. His interest is 
not divided, as is commonly true when he is merely 
" getting the next lesson in the book." In other words, 
he learns to concentrate, and the establishment of the 
habit of concentrated thinking is one of the most valu- 
able things that an individual can possibly learn. Even 
greater than the waste of time caused by unmotivated 
work is the waste of energy which it causes by establish- 
ing the habit of scattered thinking. 

When the child is absorbed in an interesting task, ^ 

however, his progress is certain to be as great as his 
ability permits. He works with greater speed. His accu- 
racy improves. Thoroughness of interpretation is in- 
creased and more fundamental mastery is insured. Cor- 
rect memorizing is rendered easier and more certain, 
and the need for drill is greatly reduced. 

Not only does motivated work yield these direct 
effects, but three indirect effects of great value are se- 
cured. 

• (1) Children manifest greater independence, origi- 
nality, and initiative in their work. They ask more 
searching and fundamental questions. They suggest 
related topics and problems for study and investigation. 



248 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

They seek sources of help and suggest new ways of at- 
tacking problems. Instead of being passively interested, 
they become actively engaged in the recitation; they 
become alert, active, and helpfully aggressive. This 
establishes the habit of self-help and resourcefulness, 
which is particularly important in fitting t\em for suc- 
cess in the world of affairs. 

(2) It requires but little of the teacher's time and 
energy to control and discipline her pupils if they are 
doing work so interesting that it fully engrosses their 
attention. The need for discipline arises out of conduct 
that interferes with the work and purpose of the school; 
and children who are busy with their tasks have neither 
the time nor the inclination to disturb others. 

(3) The group, or class, become enthusiastic over 
their work, because they are doing something which 
seems valuable to them. Adequate motives insure en- 
thusiasm in the student's work, and the more enthusias- 
tic he becomes about it, the more vigorous are his efforts. 
Such motives establish the right emotional atmosphere 
for work. It is not a superficial eDthusiasm resulting 
from the teacher's charming personality, or from her 
vivacious manner and skillful methods of presentation, 
or from an admiration for her learning, although these 
are all valuable assets. It is a deep-seated, enduring 
enthusiasm born of the student's conviction of the value 
he will receive from the mastery of his work. In such 
an atmosphere of genuine enthusiasm, difficulties van- 
ish, results are attained, and victories are won. It is in 
the white heat of an abiding enthusiasm that hard prob- 
lems are solved, immortal poetry is written, great music 
is composed, eloquent orations are delivered, and epochal 
discussions in religion or politics occur. Caught up by 
intense enthusiasm, the student gets a vision of larger 



MOTIVATION AND EFFICIENCY 249 

things, ideals are born, and relations otherwise impos- 
sible are established. 

Not only do all of these effects manifest themselves in 
the student if his work is definitely motivated, but the 
increased results which he secures react to motivate his 
efforts still further. Nothing, after all, succeeds like 
success. It not only breeds confidence in one's self, but 
it develops an insatiable hunger for other successes. 
It is under the exhilarating influence of success that the 
student is led into greater and greater tests of his ability, 
with the result that he discovers in himself possibilities 
that otherwise might have lain untouched forever. The 
values arising from work under the influence of strong 
motives are unquestionable; and they urge us eloquently 
to make all possible progress in the motivation of the 
work of the schools. There is no doubt that more at- 
tention to motive will affect favorably all other lines 
of school work, — the course of study, the technique of 
teaching, the details of classification and organization 
— and will provide the working spirit for that efficiency 
which is the ultimate object of scientific education. 



CHAPTER Xin 

THE PROJECT METHOD 

The terms "project" and "project method" have 
come to have such an important place in pedagogical 
literature in the last few years that teachers should be- 
gin to seek a thorough, fundamental understanding of 
these terms. Does the project method represent an 
entirely new development or simply a new term for an 
old method? 

What is a project ? The essential feature of the proj- 
ect method is that it provides for useful, thoroughly 
motivated application of knowledge and makes such 
use of knowledge a part of the learning, or teaching, 
process. A project is something to be done requiring 
constructive or creative ability. It may be manual, and 
this is the original and best type of project work; such 
as making a library table or raising a field of corn. To 
be a project it must be based upon a problem involving 
study and learning and be carried through to comple- 
tion in a way to answer the questions involved in the 
original problem or problems. But there may be pro- 
jects in subjects like history or geography upon the 
problem type of material, but not involving manual 
doing. The doing, in this case, would be such as organ- 
izing or carrying on a state senate or a constitutional 
convention. But there must be doing of a constructive 
or creative type. 

Purposeful act, problem, project. Some writers are 
using the term " project " as if it were synonymous with 
purposeful act or problem. This is manifestly a loose 



THE PROJECT METHOD 251 

type of thinking. The purposeful act involves interest, 
understanding, and choice. It is a motivated situation, 
but a purposeful act is not of necessity a problem nor 
a project. If a child become interested in a poem, such 
as " The Light of Stars," understands its meaning quite 
fully, and chooses to memorize it, he is certainly carry- 
ing out a purposeful act. If the work has been well 
handled, we may conceive that it is a thoroughly moti- 
vated situation. The child wants to commit the poem 
in order to have it at hand for reciting at home before 
the fireplace or as he strolls about in the woods or when 
on a camping trip. The poem has appealed to him. But 
there is no problem here because it is not the problem 
type of material, nor is it a project because it does not 
involve the doing of something requiring constructive 
or creative ability. 

A purposeful act or a motivated situation in the prob- 
lem thinking type of material is a problem. It is a better 
problem if conceived on a large plan — as large as the 
subject and the maturity of the student will permit. It 
is better also if it requires considerable time for solution. 
In any case, it will require the collection and organiza- 
tion of data, sifting, comparison and contrast, and a 
conclusion as to the correct solution. But even a thor- 
oughly motivated problem is not of necessity a project. 
The problem may be solved in thought only, while a 
project requires the completion of some objective piece 
of work based upon a problem or a series of problems. 
The difference is that the problem solution may end in 
thought, while the project can end only with the success- 
ful completion of an objective unit of work. The ques- 
tion '" Why are there periodical famines in India? " may 
be made so to appeal to the interest and understanding 
of a class that it becomes a real problem. The solution 



252 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

requires the careful collecting and weighing of data, but 
when the solution is reached it is merely a solution in 
thought. No project is possible in this connection with 
most children. 

It is apparent from the above discussion that the 
project is the third step in the series and more conclusive 
than either of the preceding steps. It is a purposeful 
act. It is usually, although not always, based upon the 
problem type of material. But regardless of the type of 
material it always involves a problem. However, it goes 
further than a mere problem, in that it requires doing as 
well as thinking. The following list shows project possi- 
bilities in different subjects, all of which involve (1) a 
purposeful act, (2) a problem, but in addition (3) 
something to be done, and so require constructive or 
creative ability: 

Agriculture. Raising a corn crop or handling a litter of pigs 
from breeding to marketing. 

Manual training. Building a corncrib, a hoghouse, or a 
library table. 

Home economics. Making a school dress or preparing a 
luncheon. 

Physics. Erection of a wireless outfit. 

Botany. Charting the weeds of a community and planning 
and executing a campaign of eradication. 

Geography. Making a booklet on Southern States as de- 
scribed in chapter vm. 

Literature. The dramatization of "Rip Van Winkle." 

History. A constitutional convention, a state senate, or a 
Thanksgiving pageant. 

Arithmetic. The organization of a stock company. 

Art, An illustrated booklet or a picture. 

Latin. The celebration of the Saturnalia. 

It is doubtful if the Latin project noted above, " The 
celebration of the Saturnalia," is really a language 
project. It is more nearly a problem in history and 



THE PROJECT METHOD 253 

Roman life worked out into a project. In any case it 
must be admitted that the above list of projects tapers 
off just a little. The last instances are not quite so clear 
as the first. If we were to go just a step or two further 
we should be entirely away from the project. The mere 
enjoyment of a poem in literature is not a project, 
although it may be a purposeful act and thoroughly 
motivated. A choice on the part of a pupil to bring up 
his addition combinations is not a project, although 
it may be a thoroughly motivated situation. A pro- 
ject is, therefore, a limited term — not as broad as 
problem, although involving a problem; not nearly as 
broad as purposeful act, although it is always a pur- 
poseful act. 

Is the project method applicable to all subjects ? In 
order to answer this question it is necessary to analyze the 
various kinds of subject-matter taught in the schools. 
At least three types of subject-matter are generally 
recognized: the problem type; the drill type; and the 
appreciation type. By the problem type is meant sub- 
ject-matter such as is encountered in history, geography, 
science, agriculture, home economics, or manual train- 
ing. This type of subject-matter involves not chiefly 
the use of the memory, but chiefly the careful thinking 
through of a problem looking toward a final solution. 
The purpose of history is not chiefly to store the memoiy 
with facts, but rather to give a working method for the 
solution of problems in politics and life in the past and in 
the present, with emphasis upon the present. The pur- 
pose of geography should not be chiefly to store the 
memory with textbook facts, but rather to give a work- 
ing knowledge of the economic and commercial relations 
which an individual or community sustains to the rest 
of the world. So in science — it is not chiefly to know 



254 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

but rather to have a useful knowledge that enables the 
person to think through and understand any situation 
which he may encounter or to solve the scientific prob- 
lems which come up in daily life. The same is true in 
agriculture and in home economics. The scientific prin- 
ciples underlying these two subjects should be under- 
stood in order that the work on the farm, in the kitchen, 
or in the sewing-room may be carried forward with a 
right and intelligent application of the principles in- 
volved. The same is true of manual training in its 
higher phases. To secure balance, proportion, harmony, 
to apply principles in producing one of the larger proj- 
ects, these become real problems in the higher phases 
of manual training work. 

Without any doubt at all, projects can be undertaken 
{ in any of the subjects involving chiefly the problem type 
of subject-matter. In history, the organization of a con- 
stitutional convention, a Republican national conven- 
tion, a State or United States Senate, these undertak- 
ings involve the essential features of the project method. 
They provide for useful, thoroughly motivated appli- 
cation of knowledge and they make such use of knowl- 
edge a part of the learning process. No one will deny 
that the same opportunity obtains in geography, science, 
agriculture, home economics, and manual training. In 
geography, for instance, a real project, although diffi- 
cult except for advanced pupils, would be a proposed 
plan for the redistribution of the meat-packing plants 
of the country so as to reduce transportation charges. 
In science, the planning of the heating and ventilation 
system of a home or of a schoolhouse is a real project 
and will involve a better teaching of the subject of heat 
in physics than is usually secured through the ordinary 
textbook method. In agriculture, the project method 



THE PROJECT METHOD 255 

has been fully accepted in all Smith-Hughes schools. 
The boy studies his books and bulletins as much as 
ever, but the carrying out of a farm project involving 
the raising and feeding of a litter of pigs, the raising, 
harvesting, and marketing of a crop of corn, etc., is 
relied upon to give application of the principles and to 
instill them in the mind of the pupil in such a way that 
they become a part of his experience. In home econom- 
ics, girls are no longer asked to make samplers as a part 
of the sewing work. Instead they are given a worth- 
while project, such as the making of a kitchen apron or 
a school dress. In manual training the boy immediately 
begins to plan for something which he wants to make for 
his own room, for the school, or for some other useful 
purpose. It is true that in both sewing and manual 
training, the pupil may need to stop and work for skill 
before proceeding with certain parts of an undertaking. 
But the project method is relied upon to give motive 
and to dictate the major part of the work of the pupil. 

The drill type of subject-matter is represented by 
work in writing, spelling, the addition combinations or 
multiplication tables in arithmetic, and to a certain 
extent also by the mastery of the use of the needle or 
sewing machine in sewing or the mastery of the tools in 
manual training. There are here two types of drill ma- 
terial, one looking toward the memory of facts and the 
other seeking the development of manual skill. It is 
doubtful if projects can be conceived to advantage as 
J long as the work is confined strictly to the drill phases of 
subject-matter. True, motive can be developed and 
application can be anticipated, but when the work is 
carried to the project stage, other elements have en- 
tered and the chances are that the problem type of ma- 
terial is involved. 



256 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

By appreciation type of subject-matter is meant the 
subject-matter involved in music, art, literature, foreign 
language, mathematics when not studied for the purpose 
of use, certain phases of many other subjects, even of 
science and history, and any other type of subject- 
matter which is mastered simply for the joy of knowing 
without any purpose to apply to the solution of life 
problems. The beginning work in music, if it involves 
rote singing or the mastery of the technique of reading 
music, involves very little appreciation. In fact, it is 
simply drill work. The same is true of the beginnings in 
art work. The student must learn to use the pencil, the 
crayon, or the brush. The same is true of the beginning 
work in a foreign language or the beginning work in 
almost any appreciation subject, but gradually, as the 
student gets further and further into the subject, if it 
appeals to his fancy or his imagination or his mode of 
thinking, or whatever it is which determines apprecia- 
tion, then he gradually reaches the point where he can 
enjoy the productions of others in these fields. He has 
reached, therefore, the stage of appreciation. He may 
do the same thing in literature, in history, in mathe- 
matics, or even in a foreign language. 

From the above discussion it is evident that project 
work can never replace all other types of school work. 
There will still be need for the appreciation type of 
work, for the drill type of work, and even in the problem 
thinking type there will be much of the work which can- 
not truly and with sensible economy be developed into 
projects. 

May projects be undertaken in the appreciation sub- 
jects? It is quite doubtful. The enjoyment of a picture 
or a sunset is not a project. The painting of a sunset is 
a project, but manifestly the great majority of pupils 



THE PROJECT METHOD 257 

will never reach the stage of conceiving projects in 
appreciation subjects. At most they will do merely 
an exercise. Well-conceived projects will be left for the 
artist, the author, or the very few persons of unusual 
ability in the particular fields — those who can execute 
something which will be appreciated by the masses. In 
general, therefore, it seems that appreciation subjects 
involve in their beginnings drill, and in their endings 
projects for a very few of the most gifted. However, 
behind the project in appreciation material is a prob- 
lem. That is, the artist in producing a painting has a 
problem for solution in color, and the painting is there- 
fore a project — an expression of the problem just as 
in the problem thinking subjects. But as long as the 
work with the appreciation type of material is confined 
to appreciation, there can be no project. 

Is project work to replace drill? The correct answer to 
this question is "No." Drill, properly motivated and 
based upon the right technique, is the most effective 
method of handling certain subject-matter. The essen- 
tial technique involved in a good drill lesson may be 
briefly noted under the following points: 

(1) The work should be thoroughly motivated for the 
child. 

(2) The child should understand what he is to do and 
why he is to do it. The child constantly asks " Why? " 
The teacher should anticipate that question. The child 
should at all points know why he is doing a particular 
piece of school work. In a democracy no one should 
question this statement. We are not training slaves or 
subordinates. We are training free American citizens — 
kings in their own right. 

(3) There should be repetition with attention. When 
there is motive, when the reason for the work is under- 



258 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

stood, and when there is attention, repetition is one of 
the best drill devices. Repetition does not replace asso- 
ciation as a memory process, but after proper asso- 
ciations have been made and when all other conditions 
are properly met, repetition is an effective method. 

(4) Provision should be made for holding attention 
by variety of procedure, time limits, emulation, compe- 
tition, games, etc. 

(5) All of the members of the series should be in- 
cluded in the drill, but 

(6) most of the time should be spent on the more 
difficult members. 

(7) The drill should be systematized. 

(8) The time space between drill periods should be 
gradually lengthened. 

It is evident from the above discussion that the proj- 
ect method has nothing to do with drill material. When 
it is necessary to master drill material, the drill method 
is the correct one to pursue. Drill has a special tech- 
nique of its own and that is the best technique to use in 
the mastery of drill material. Educators who have sought 
to abolish drill through the use of the project method 
have simply failed to analyze the types of material and 
the principles involved in teaching different types of 
material. They doubtless have confused the demand for 
the motivation of drill with the project method because a 
good project is always highly motivated. The modern 
development of the curriculum has also shown that the 
relative amount of drill material needed in the schools 
is much less than was formerly assumed. Even in the 
subject of arithmetic recent studies have shown that the 
amount of drill work required is relatively small, al- 
though essential. The significant development in arith- 
metic is the conceiving and working-out of motivated 



THE PROJECT METHOD 259 

problems or, in certain cases,'projects. When the solution 
of these projects or motivated problems shows the need 
of drill, then the class willingly returns to drill upon the 
fundamental processes, simple fractions or other usable 
material. The outstanding fault in the old type of arith- 
metic work was that drill was almost the only method 
used and was extended to such topics as partial pay- 
ments, cube root, and true discount, for which there is 
practically no use by the ordinary citizen in carrying 
forward his social or business relations. The project work, 
therefore, while not replacing drill or not in any sense 
abolishing needed drill, has helped to show the relative 
value of drill in the total teaching process. 

What are the advantages of a project in teaching? As 
Dr. John Dewey has pointed out, experience must be 
involved in school work if pupils are really taught to 
think. This means that the school work must either in- 
volve the past experience of the child or must provide 
experience that will make use of the knowledge which 
the child is acquiring. The project, therefore, comes in 
as an essential part of the thinking process. Few adults 
cau think in abstract terms with accuracy and precision. 
It is necessary in working through a worth-while under- 
taking to make provision for trying out or applying the 
principles involved. And this is the only safe procedure 
because no one can determine a priori what is going to 
happen when principles are applied to actual situations. 

As the process of providing for application or use in 
order to test thought is essential for adults, it is certainly 
much more essential for children. This is the funda- 
mental philosophy underlying the project, and the chief 
advantage of the project is that it does provide for use. 
It follows that interest and motive are developed, the 
work is given connection with life; in fact, real projects 



260 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

mean that the child is actually working out under life 
conditions the ideas which he has gained in the school- 
room. The school has, therefore, become life. 

No one will deny that under such conditions full 
provision is made for the self-activity of the child. In 
fact, all of our principles with reference to pupil initia- 
tive, self-activity, application, motivation and interest, 
are fully realized in a well-chosen, thoroughly motivated 
project. The project also provides for individual differ- 
ences among children. Many projects are individual 
undertakings. Group projects make use of various in- 
dividuals of the group according to interest and ability. 

What are the essential and desirable characteristics 
of a project? A good project (1) should be broad in 
scope; (2) should provide for the application of useful 
knowledge; (3) should grow out of the interest and ex- 
pressed desire of the child; (4) should be understood so 
fully and its value should be so appreciated that the 
child has adequate motive for the undertaking; (5) 
should be conceived and largely projected by the child 
himself; (6) should be carried out under conditions, cir- 
cumstances, or surroundings similar to those found in 
actual life practice; and (7) its success may be judged 
largely by objective standards of achievement. 

The project has been quite fully developed in the 
subject of agriculture, so it will help in understanding the 
project to note what its agricultural advocates claim for 
it. The following "Essentials of a Project " were set forth 
in a recent State bulletin 1 on vocational agriculture : 

1. A plan outlining, in sufficient detail to avoid later dis- 
pute, the procedure; steps in development, when and 
how materials are to be obtained, and disposal of product. 

1 Connecticut Vocational Agriculture, Bulletin No. 1, Series 
1919-20. 



THE PROJECT METHOD 261 

2. An agreement between student, parent, and teacher 
based on the plan and setting forth the cooperation ex- 
pected of each. It should state clearly that the boy 
shall own or rent his animals, equipment, etc., and shall 
be allowed all profits after paying proper rental, interest, 
etc. 

3. Records and accounts covering inventory, labor cost, ex- 
penses, receipts, in sufficient detail to show in a final sum- 
mary the strength or weakness of the plan, methods of 
procedure, and adaptability of this type of agriculture to 
the region. A written report should be required calling 
for a criticism by the student of his own project, and a 
statement showing what changes should be made if a 
similar project were to be carried through the next 
season. 

4. The project should involve the principles taught in the 
classroom. 

5. It should correlate such study with the best farm practice 
of the community. 

6. It should promise adequate return for the time and money 
invested. 

7. It should extend through a natural cycle of development 
and production. 

8. It should develop a reasonably efficient amount of skill in 
the major processes involved. 

9. It should involve problems new to the student or involve 
new and more extensive handling of problems already 
being worked on. 

10. It should develop in the boy executive ability to a greater 
extent than manual skill. 

11. It should involve study of the interrelation of two or more 
enterprises subordinate to the whole farm business plan. 

12. The projects of the class as a whole should be the means 
of developing a spirit of cooperation and a community 
of interest among the members of the class, and, so far 
as possible, a feeling of pride in their accomplishment 
among the parents. 



262 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

A project which conforms to these twelve essentials 
is not a trifling matter. It is a serious undertaking, to 
be planned with the greatest care and consideration. 
It is considered a most vital and fundamental part of 
the teaching and learning process. 

The size of the project will vary. No limits can be 
set. In general, the larger the undertaking, the better, 
provided the undertaking is of the right kind, so that 
there is no doubt about interest being maintained and 
the outcome being such as to justify the effort. At times, 
girls who plan a school dress grow a little tired of the prob- 
lem because it continues over for so long a time. How- 
ever, this is frequently due to the program of studies 
which assigns sewing to only one or two days in the week. 
Thus it takes a month to accomplish what would other- 
wise be completed within a week. The mere extension 
of time makes the problem seem a long one, and some 
pupils under such conditions become a little tired of 
coming back again and again after such long periods, to 
the same undertaking. Because of the fact that sewing is 
so frequently taught only once or twice a week, wise 
sewing teachers have found it desirable to conceive 
smaller projects. On the other hand, an agricultural 
project which extends through the season or entire year, 
when wisely directed by an inspiring leader, is not too 
large an undertaking. Other things being equal, the 
larger and more significant the project, the better, pro- 
vided it meets fully the other essentials of a good 
project. 

Are there dangers in the use of the project method? 
Apparently there are dangers if the project method is 
not properly understood and if its limitations are not 
comprehended. Some writers upon the subject would 
evidently replace all other school work by projects. 



THE PROJECT METHOD 2G3 

They would do away with all drill. They would make 
doing on a project basis a part of all learning. This is a 
type of heresy which is common. People are generally 
inclined to see one thing at a time. There is no reason, 
however, why this should be true. Teachers and educa- 
tors should recognize that for the teaching of certain 
types of subject-matter the project is the most effective 
instrument. In teaching other types of subject-matter, 
however, the project has no place. The chief danger 
in the project method is failure to understand it and its 
limitations. 

Many or few projects? The loose type of thinking 
which has confused the well-conceived project with the 
problem or the purposeful act on the one hand, or with 
the exercise, the illustration, the application, the experi- 
ment, or the practicum on the other hand, has led to the 
effort to increase the number of projects and even to the 
attempt to conceive a project for each important topic 
taken up in a study. 

The experience in the industrial subjects where the 
project has received the most typical development indi- 
cates that it is much better if the boy undertakes a man- 
sized project like raising a field of corn and makes that 
his one farm crops project, than if he were to undertake 
little plots of corn, oats, wheat, rye, and barley, for 
instance. The latter situation would be properly desig- 
nated as school exercises. The first is a real man-sized 
project appealing to the imagination and the dignity 
of the boy. At the same time it involves the essential 
principles of motivation and many elements which are 
common to ail farm crops undertakings. These com- 
mon elements are easily apparent. 

If there are ponds, sloughs, or draws needing drainage, 
the problem is a fundamental one equally applicable if 



264 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

the boy were to undertake a banner crop of oats or 
wheat. In the study of fertility, the question of proper 
rotation, application of barnyard manure or other 
methods of building up humus-content and necessary 
plant-food elements when applied to corn, will answer 
the same questions for any other crop with only slight 
modifications of details. Likewise, the questions of 
breaking, depth, time, etc., of the preparation of the 
seed-bed, and of planting, involve questions that, while 
they do not carry over in full force to other crops, do 
offer considerable help on other crops and furnish 
thoroughly satisfactory motivation when these same 
topics are taken up in connection with other crops. 
The problem of cultivation of corn is not generally ap- 
plicable to any other crop. The method of harvesting 
and the problems involved are quite different for corn, 
but we know from experience that the handling of one 
fundamental project does furnish adequate motive for 
the study of other farm operations. In fact the boy is 
taking on all of the serious purposes of the actual farmer. 
He is beginning to see the reasons for doing things and 
the relative value of different procedures. In short, he 
is becoming a scientific farmer through the intensive 
study of one large project. He is not content, therefore, 
to carry forward other farm operations as he must do in 
helping his father on the farm, without raising funda- 
mental questions as to the why, the best method of pro- 
cedure, the possibilities of increasing crop yields, etc. 

Can the work be as well done? This seems a superflu- 
ous question if the project method is applied to its 
appropriate material and if no attempt is made to apply 
it to drill and appreciation types of material where it 
has no proper application. The problem type of ma- 
terial can certainly be much better handled when made 



THE PROJECT METHOD 1Q5 

significant and motivated through the use of worth- 
while projects. There is no loss. There is decided gain. 
However, if the teacher or superintendent can have but 
a single idea at a time and attempts to organize all of his 
work on a project basis regardless of the character of 
the work, he is going to encounter difficulties and lessen 
the efficiency of his school system. The work of Meriam 
at the University of Missouri is a good illustration of the 
reorganization of school work on a worth-while basis. 
There is interest; there is motivation; there are objec- 
tive undertakings; there are problems; there are even 
a few projects carried forward. A careful review of the 
results of that type of teaching shows that grade pupils 
who have done this type of work may later enter the 
high school and succeed. 1 In fact, both in the Univer- 
sity and the city high school of Columbia, Missouri, the 
pupils who had done this type of work in the University 
elementary school secured grades which averaged above 
the grades of other pupils who had done the regular 
work in the city schools. 

The Missouri University elementary school is doubt- 
less the nearest approach to the general adoption of the 
project method in school work, and the results are satis- 
factory. The Gary plan makes some use of projects 
in connection with a larger socialized program, but the 
Gary system is weak, according to survey reports, in 
not providing drill on drill material, and in not providing 
for closer organization and more adequate supervision. 
In the subjects of agriculture, manual training, and 
home economics, where the project method has been 
applied longest and most fully, the results are entirely 
satisfactory. The Massachusetts home project plan of 

1 See Meriam : " The University of Missouri Elementary School 
Experiment," Journal of Educational Psychology, June, 1915. 



266 THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL WORK 

teaching vocational agriculture has become famous 
throughout the nation, and is being applied in adapted 
form in almost every State of the Union. 

The project method is based upon sound principles of 
psychology and education. It is a logical outcome of the 
acceptance of the doctrine of interest and the principles 
of motivation. When properly understood and when 
wisely applied to its appropriate subject-matter, there 
is no loss, but much gain, in the use of the project method. 
The work is better understood, more easily and more 
fully mastered, and longer retained. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Arnold, Saeah Louise. Learning to Read. Silver, Burdette 
&Co. 

Ayres, L. P. The Spelling Vocabularies of Personal and 
Business Letters. Russell Sage Foundation. 
A Scale for Measuring the Quality of Handwriting of School 
Children. Russell Sage Foundation, Department of 
Child Hygiene, Bulletin no. 113. 
A Measuring Scale for Ability in Spelling. E139. Russell 
Sage Foundation. 

Bagley, William Chandler. Educational Values. The 
Macmillan Company. 
School Discipline. The Macmillan Company. 

Bennett, Clara R. A Study of the Wheat Industry in the 
Fifth Grade. Teachers College Record. Columbia Uni- 
versity, January, 1911, p. 50. 

Betts and Hall. Better Rural Schools. Bobbs-Merrill Com- 
pany. 

Bobbitt, J. F. Supervision of City Schools, Twelfth Y ear-Book. 
National Society for the Study of Education, part I, 
University of Chicago Press. 

Book, William Frederick. The Psychology of Skill. Uni- 
versity of Montana Publications, Bulletin no. 53. 

Briggs, Thomas H. Formal English Grammar as a Discipline. 
Teachers College Record. Columbia University, Septem- 
ber, 1913. 

Briggs, Thomas H., and Coffman, L. D. Reading in Public 
Schools. Rowe, Peterson & Co. 

Bryan and Harter. Telegraphic Language. Psychological 
Review (1907), vol. 4, p. 27; (1899), vol. 6, p. 345. 

Buckingham, B. R. Spelling Ability. Teachers College Pub- 
lications, no. 59. 1913. 

Charters, W. W. Teaching the Common Branches. Houghton 
Mifflin Company. 
Methods of Teaching. Rowe, Peterson & Co. 

Clark, Lotta A. A Good Way to Teach History. The School 
Review, vol. 17, p. 255. 



268 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cubberley, E. P. Improvement of Rural Schools. Houghton 
Mifflin Company. 

Dewey, John. School and Society. Chicago University Press. 
Interest as Related to Will. Chicago University Press. 
Interest and Effort in Education. Houghton Mifflin Com- 
pany. 

Ebbinghaus, Hermann. (Translated by Henry A. Ruger and 
Clara Bussenius.) Teachers College Publications. 

Freeman, Frank N. Handwriting. Fourteenth Year-Book, 
National Society for the Study of Education, p. 61. 
The Teaching of Handwriting. Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Hoyt, F. S. Studies in English Grammar. Teachers College 
Record, Columbia University, September, 1905. 
The Place of Grammar in the Elementary Schools. Teachers 
College Record, Columbia University, November, 1906. 

Hoyt, F. S., and Peet, H. E. First Year in Number. Hough- 
ton Mifflin Company. 
Everyday Arithmetic. Revised Edition. Three-Book 
Course. Primary, Intermediate and Advanced Books. 
Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Jessup, W. A. Current Practices and Standards in Arithmetic. 
Fourteenth Year-Booh, National Society for the Study 
of Education, part I, p. 116. 

Jones, W. F. The Concrete Materials of English Spelling. 
Bulletin of the University of North Dakota. 

Keyes, Charles Henry. Progress Through the Grades of City 
Schools. Columbia University Contributions to Edu- 
cation, no. 42. 

King, Irving. Education for Social Efficiency. D. Appleton & 
Co. 

Kirkpatrick, Edwin A. The Fundamentals of Child Study. 
The Macmillan Company. 

Knorr, George W. Consolidation of Rural Schools. Office of 
Experiment Stations. Bulletin no. 232. 

Mann, Charles R. The Teaching of Physics. The Macmillan 
Company. 

McMurry, Frank M. Type Studies in Geography. The Mac- 
millan Company. 
Advisable Omissions from the Elementary Curriculum. 
Educational Review, May, 1914. 

Monahan, A. C. The Status of Rural Education in the United 
States. U.S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin no. 8. 1913. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 269 

Myers, C. S. Educational Psychology. 

Parker, Francis W., School. Year-Booh for 1913. The 
Morning Exercise as a Socializing Influence. Francis 
W. Parker School, Chicago. 

Rice, J. M. The Spelling Grind. The Forum, April and June, 
1897, vol. 32. 

Richards, L. H. The Art of Right Living. Whitcomb & 
Barrows. 

Rowe, Stuart H. Habit Formation. Longmans, Green & Co. 

Ruger, W. A. Psychology of Efficiency. Science Press. 

Schussler, Amy. Examples of Teaching Units from the Speyer 
School. Teachers College Record, Columbia University, 
January, 1911, p. 23. 

Scott, E. H. Journal of the Federal Convention. Scott, Fores- 
man & Co. 1898. 

Stimson, R. W. The Massachusetts Home Project Plan of Vo- 
cational Agricultural Education. U.S. Bureau of Edu- 
cation, Bulletin no. 8. 1914. 

Strayer, G. D. Age and Grade Census of Schools and Colleges. 
U.S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin no. 5. 1911. 
Brief Course in the Teaching Process. jThe Macmillan 
Company. 

Swift, Edgar James. Mind in the Making. Charles Scrib- 
ner's Sons. 

Taylor, Frederick Winslow. The Principles of Scientific 
Management. Harper & Brothers. 

Thorndike, E. L. Mental Fatigue. Psychological Review, 1900. 
The Psychology of Learning. (Educational Psychology, 

vol. ii.) Teachers College Bulletins. 
Mental Work and Fatigue and Individual Differences and 

Their Causes. (Ibid., vol. in.) 
Memory for Paired Associates. Psychological Review, 

March, 1908, vol. 15, p. 122. 
Handwriting. Teachers College Record, Columbia Univer- 
sity, March, 1910. 

Trowbridge, Ada Wilson. The Home School. Houghton 
Mifflin Company. 

Watkins, Florence V. Constructive History Study in the 
Eighth Grade. Teachers College Record, Columbia Uni- 
versity, January, 1911, p. 60. 

Wilson, G. M. Seventh and Eighth Grade History. Elementary 
School Teacher, September, 1912, p. 11. 



270 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A Course of Study in Mathematics. Connersville Public 
Schools. Second Edition, 1912. 
Wilson, H. B., Motivation. Proceedings of National Educa- 
tion Association, 1910, p. 418; 1911, p. 528. 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS 

PARTICULARLY ON THE PROJECT METHOD 

Bobbitt, Franklin. The Curriculum. Houghton Mifflin 

Company. 1918. 
$ Branom, Mendel E. The Project Method in Education. 

Richard E. Badger Co. 1920. 
Brewer, John M. The Vocational Guidance Movement. The 

Macmillan Company. 1918. 
Curtis, Henry S. Education Through Play. The Macmillan 

Company. 1916. 
Dewey, Evelyn. New Schools for Old. E. P. Button & Co. 

1919. 
Dewey, John and Evelyn. The Schools of Tomorrow. E. P. 

- Button & Co. 1915. 
Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. The Macmillan 

Company. 1916. 
Foght, Harold Waldstein. The Rural Teacher and His 

Work. The Macmillan Company. 1917. 
Freeman, Frank N. How Children Learn. Houghton Mifflin 

Company. 1917. 
Groszmann, M. P. E. The Exceptional Child. Charles Scrib- 

ner's Sons. 1917. 
Gulick, L. H. Philosophy of Play. Charles Scribner's Sons. 

1920. 
Hart well, E. C. The Teaching of History. Houghton Mifflin 

Company. 1913. 
Herring, John P. Bibliography of the Project Method. Teach- 
ers College Record, 21 : 150-74, March, 1920. 
Hill, Mabel. The Teaching of Civics. Houghton Mifflin 

Company. 1914. 
Horn, Ernest. What is a Project? Elementary School 

Journal, 21:112-116, Oct., 1920. 
Hughes, R. O. Community Civics. Allyn & Bacon. 1917. 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS 271 

Kendall, Calvin N., and Mirick, George A. Hjw to Teach 

the Fundamental Subjects. Houghton Mifflin Company. 

1916. 
Kendall, Calvin N., and Mirick, George A. How to Teach 

the Special Subjects. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1918. 
Kendall, Calvin N., and Stryker, Florence E. History 

in the Elementary School. Houghton Mifflin Company. 

1918. 
Kilpatrick, William H. The Project Method. Proceedings 

of National Education Association, 1918: 528-31. 

Teachers College Record, 19: 319-35, September, 1918. 
Klapper, Paul. The Teaching of Arithmetic. D. Appleton & 

Co. 1916. 
Lull, Herbert G. Examples of the Project-Problem Method 

of Instruction. Teaching number 45, Kansas State 

Normal School, Emporia, Kansas. 
Lull, Herbert G., and Wilson, H. B. The Re-Direction of 

High School Instruction, Chapter iv. J. B. Lippincott 

and Company, 1920. 
Meriam, Junius L. Child Life and the Curriculum. World 

Book Co. 1920. 
McMurry, Chas. A. Teaching by Projects. The Macmillan 

Company. 1919. 
Rapeer, Louis W. Teaching Elementary School Subjects. 

Charles Scribner's Sons, 1917. 
Snedden, David. The Project Method of Teaching Home- 

making. Educational Administration and Supervision, 

5: 94-96, February, 1919. 
The Project as a Teaching Unit. School and Society, 4: 

419-23, September 16, 1916. 
Stevenson, John Alford. The Project in Science Teaching. 

School Science and Mathematics, 19: 50-63, January, 

1919. 
Stimson, Rufus W. Vocational Agricultural Education by 

Home Projects. The Macmillan Company. 1919. 
Stockton, James Leroy. Project Work in Education. Hough- 
ton Mifflin Company. 1920. 
Tuell, H. E. The Study of Nations. Houghton Mifflin Com- 
pany. 1919. 
Twiss, George R. "The Project and Problem Method," in 

his Textbook in the Principles of Science Teaching, pp. 

419-28. The Macmillan Company. 1917. 



272 RECENT PUBLICATIONS 

Weeks, Ruth Mary. Socializing the Three R's. The Mac- 
millan Company. 1919. 

Woodhull, John Francis. "Science Teaching by Projects," 
in his The Teaching of Science, pp. 197-217. The Mac 
millan Company. 1918. 

Wilson, G. M. Home Project Work in Agriculture. Midland 
Schools, 30:14-17, Sept., 1915; 47-49, Oct., 1915. 
School Credit for Home and Project Work. Midland 
Schools, 30:239-241, April, 1916. 

Wilson, G. M., and Gibson, H. H. Forms of Home Project 
Work Growing out of the School Work in Poultry. Mid- 
land Schools, 31:147-148, Jan., 1917. 

Wilson, H. B. The Problem Attack in Teaching. Elementary 
School Journal, June, 1917, pp. 749-55. 

See Library Leaflet no. 9, November, 1919, Bureau of Edu- 
cation, for list of references on the project method in 
education. 8 pp. 



INDEX 



Acquiring property, a motive for 
work, 47, 48, 73-80. 

AdJer, Miss, of Public School No. 
77 of New York City, 177. 

Advancing self in others' estima- 
tion, a motive for work, 50, 51. 

Agriculture, practical problems of, 
in school work, 160, 161; moti- 
vation of, 211-16. 

Ames, Iowa, 201. 

Aristippus, 244. 

Arithmetic, useless matter in, 12, 
158, 179-82, 244; motivation in, 
158-82; the demand for practi- 
cal, 158, 159; correlation with 
other subjects, 159-65; organ- 
ization in study of, necessary, 
164, 165; problems in, 165-79. 

Arnold, Sarah Louise, on arousing 
interest in reading, 58. 

Art work, 196-99. 

Assemblies, school, 91, 92, 224-33. 

Athletic events, 233-36. 

Ayres, Dr. L. P., 191. 

Ayres scale for writing, 186 n., 
188, 188 n. 

Bagley, quoted on motivation in 
drill work, 24; on instincts, 46. 

Balch, Elizabeth, 148. 

Ball-tossing, Dr. Swift's experi- 
ments in, 34. 

Banks, school, 177-79. 

Bazaars, school, 221-24. 

Bennett, Miss, of Horace Mann 
School, 150. 

Benson, Mr., of Department of 
Agriculture, 213. 



Biography, 102. 

Birds, compositions on, 75-78. 

Bliss, Superintendent, Montclair, 
N.J., 188. 

Boise, Idaho, 205. 

Book, Dr., his experiment in type- 
writing, 34. 

Books, in reading, use of, 62; in 
language and composition, use 
of, 71, 72, 95; in history, 109, 
110, 128; in geography, 136; 
and practical undertakings, 240. 

Briggs, on study of grammar, 97, 
ra.l. 

Briggs and Coffman, quoted on 
reading, 59. 

Bryan and Harter, their develop- 
ment of the learning curve, 33, 
34. 

Building a house, problems about, 
166, 178, 179. 

Business failures, 173, 174. 

Buying a lot, problems about, 165, 
166. 

Campbell, Miss Floy, formerly of 
Manual Training School, Kan- 
sas City, Mo., 197. 

Center of method, the, 40-42. 

Chamberlain, his How We Are 
Clothed, 155. 

Charles City County, Virginia, 
217. 

Charters, on motives, 44. 

Chicago, Dvorak Park School, 213. 

Child, the center of the school's 
efforts, 28, 42; the value of his 
time, 246. 



274 



INDEX 



Clark, Miss, of Charlestown High 
School, on teaching history, 
117-20. 

Claxton, Commissioner, of Golds- 
boro, N.C., 135. 

Collections, the making of, a mo- 
tive for work, 51. 

Communication, using the need 
for, in language and composi- 
tion teaching, 80-88. 

Competition, for results, a motive 
for work, 48, 66; in arithmetic, 
158; with self, in writing, 187. 

Competitive instincts, use of, in 
motivating school work, 220- 
24. 

Composition and language, moti- 
vation of, 71-100. See Lan- 
guage. 

Compositions, samples of, 76-80, 
90, 91, 95. 

Concentration, establishing, 247- 
49. 

Condon, Superintendent, of Prov- 
idence, R.I., 200. 

Connersville, Ind., pageant at, 
114-17. 

Conquering, a motive for work, 
51, 52. 

Constitutional Convention in class, 
103-09, 123-25. 

Cooking, 199. 

Corn story, the, 154. 

Correlation of school work, 216- 
19. 

Course of study, in geography, 
suggestions for, 152-56. 

Courses of study, in arithmetic, 
comparison of, 179-82. 

Curiosity, a motive for work, 136, 
156. 

Curve, fatigue, 30-33; learning, 
33-35; forgetting, 37. 

Denver, Col., 206. 

Dewey, Dr. John, 245; his doc- 



trine of interest and will, 30; 
on motivation, 43, 44. 

Discipline. See Formal discipline. 

Divine discontent, the, 8-10. 

Domestic art, 203. 

Domestic science, 160, 217, 244. 

Dominoes in school, 162. 

Dramatics, teaching of, in public 
schools, 194. 

Dramatization, a motive for work, 
49; a motive for reading, 65; 
in language and composition 
study, 74, 79, 90-92; in study 
of history, 101, 102, 109-17. 

Drawing, motivation of, 196-99. 

Drill work, motivation in, Strayer 
quoted on, 24; Bagley quoted 
on, 24; in reading, the moti- 
vating of, 64; in writing, 96; in 
arithmetic, 164, 165, 169. 

Dwyer, Mrs. Etna Stevens, of St. 
Louis, 15. 

Earning money, a motive for 
work, 47, 48. 

Ebbinghaus, Herman, nonsense 
syllables of, 35, 36. 

Economics, home, motivation of, 
199-202. 

Education, the ancient view that 
it was for a few, 4; in the Mid- 
dle Ages, 4; the modern ideal 
that it shall be universal, 5; 
compulsory, 5; aim of, 10, 11. 

Efficiency, and motivation, 241- 
49; and progress, 241, 242; 
applied to organization, 245, 
246. 

Elimination of useless subject- 
matter, in grammar, 12, 244; in 
arithmetic, 12, 158, 179-82, 244; 
in spelling, 12, 244; in geog- 
raphy, 12, 135, 136; in other sub- 
jects, 12, 243-45. 

Eliot, Dr. C. W., quoted on the 
cultivated man, 155, 156. 



INDEX 



275 



Entertaining, a motive for work, 

49, 50, 91-93. 
Entertainments, school, 91-93, 

224-33. 
Enthusiasm, 248. 
Exhibits, school, 234. 

Failures, business, 173, 174. 

Fairs, school, 221-24. 

Farming, manual-training prob- 
lems growing out of, 208, 209. 

Farmville, Va., 149. 

Fatigue, apparent, relation of in- 
terest to, 30-33. 

Fire-insurance, problems concern- 
ing, 167. 

Fitting for a life-career, a motive 
for work, 52. 

Forgetting curve, 37. 

Formal discipline, and interest, 
38-40. 

Francis W. Parker School, 61, 178, 
224, 225. 

Froebel, 5. 

Furnishing a house, problems con- 
cerning, 169, 170, 209-11. 

Games, playing, a motive for 
work, 48, 49; the use of, in 
learning to read, 63-65; in lan- 
guage and composition work, 
96; in geography work, 157; in 
arithmetic work, 162. 

Geography, useless matter in, 12, 
135, 136; motivation in, 133- 
57; what should be learned in, 
133-36; motivating the work 
in, 136-38; creating a real prob- 
lem, 138-40; from local to for- 
eign, 140-44; direct correspond- 
ence with other regions, 144-47; 
.the imaginary journey, 147-49; 
correlation, 149-52; course of 
study, 152-56; summary of dis- 
cussion, 156, 157; work in, basis 
of work in arithmetic, 161. 



Goal, and motive, in school work, 
15; different types of, 47-53. 

Goldsboro, N.C., 135. 

Gordon, Edward B., of Winfield, 
Kansas, 194. 

Grades, useless repetition of, 13. 

Grammar, useless matter in, 12, 
244; formal, the value of, 97. 

Grand Rapids, Mich., 229. 

Hamilton, Katharine, School and 
Home Education, 237. 

Harter and Bryan, their develop- 
ment of the learning curve, 33, 
34. 

History, useless matter in, 12; 
how to study, 40; motivation in, 
101-32; re-living, 101; the solu- 
tion of a modern problem, 102; 
other motives, 102; the Consti- 
tutional Convention in class, 
103-09; dramatization of, 109- 
17; the social-group method of 
study of, 117-25; motivated 
work and "page" work in, 125- 
27; organized around problems, 
127-31 ; summary of discussion, 
131, 132; work in, basis of work 
in arithmetic, 161. 

Home economics, motivation of, 
199-202. 

Horace Mann School, 142, 150, 
158. 

House, problems regarding build- 
ing and finishing of, 165-70, 
178, 179, 198, 202, 207. 

Imboden, Sarah Mark, 227. 
Incentive and motive, 20, 21. 
Indiana, agricultural school work 

in, 218. 
Instincts, use of, in school work, 

41; the basis of motive, 45-47; 

social and competitive, use of, 

in motivating school work, 220- 

24. 



276 



INDEX 



Insurance, problems concerning, 
1G7. 

Interest, and motive, 21-25; and 
accomplishment, 28; and moral 
development, 29, 30; relation of, 
to apparent fatigue, 30-33; and 
the learning curve, 33-35; and 
memory, 35-38; and formal dis- 
cipline, 38-40. 

Iowa State College, 187. 

Jones, Dr., 192. 
Judd, Charles H., 67. 

Kansas City, Manual Training 

High School of, 197. 
Kirk, John R., of Kirskville, Mo., 

230. 
Kirksville, Mo., State Normal 

School, 230. 

Language and composition, moti- 
vation of, 19, 20, 71-100; es- 
tablishing the motive, 71-73; 
forms of motive, 73-95 ; example 
of thirty-eight pieces of moti- 
vated work, 98-100. 

Learning curve, interest and, 33- 
35. 

Letters, written by pupils, 81-88, 
151. 

Life-career, fitting for, a motive 
for work, 52. 

Life insurance, problem concern- 
ing, 167. 

Luther, Martin, 5. 

Making things, a motive for work, 

49. 
Mandelstam, Mr., of Public 

School No. 77 of New York 

City, 177. 
Manhattan, Kansas, 201. 
Mann, Professor, on motivation 

in laboratory work in science, 24. 
Manual-training work, 179, 198; 



based on interest in making 
things, 49; correlation with 
other subjects, 159; motivation 
of, 202-11; useless matter in, 
244. 

Mastering, a motive for work, 51, 
52. 

May-Day party, the educational 
value of a, 15-19. 

McMurry, Dr. Frank M., 149, 
179, 181. 

Meek, Superintendent, of Boise, 
Idaho, 205. 

Memory and interest, 35-38. 

Money, earning, a motive for 
work, 47, 48; school projects for 
raising, 223 n. 

Montclair, N.J., high school at, 
178; schools, 188. 

Moral development and interest, 
29, 30. 

"Morning exercise," the, 224, 225. 

Mortgages, problems concerning, 
167. 

Motivated work and "page" work 
in history, 125-27. 

Motivation, in school work, to be 
aimed at, 10, 23; results in 
elimination of useless subject- 
matter, 12; the meaning of, 15; 
the teaching of language work 
through, 19, 20; the incentive 
and the motive in, 20, 21 ; when 
accomplished, 23; need of, most 
manifest in teaching process, 23; 
in drill work, 24; in the labora- 
tory work in science, 24; the 
technique of motivated teach- 
ing, 25-27; what is proposed 
through, 28; the psychological 
basis of, 28-42; of reading, 57- 
70; of language and composi- 
tion, 71-100; in geography, 
133-57; in arithmetic, 158-82; 
of writing, 185-90; of spelling, 
190-92; of music. 192-95; of 



INDEX 



277 



drawing, 196-99; of home eco- 
nomics, 199-202; of manual 
training, 202-11; of agricul- 
ture and nature-study, 211-16; 
through use of social and com- 
petitive instincts, 220-24; and 
efficiency, 241-49. 

Motive, and goal, in school work, 
15; and incentive, 20, 21; and 
interest, 21-25, 33; analysis of, 
43-45; instinct the basis of, 
45-47; for reading, the estab- 
lishing of, 57-60; for language 
and composition, the establish- 
ing of, 71-73. 

Motives, disposition to choose 
worthy, a thing to be cultivated, 
25; the origin and sources of, 
43-53; the complexity of their 
origin, 44, 45; different types of, 
47-53; games as, 48, 49, 63-65; 
for reading, 63-70; for language 
and composition, 73-95; for his- 
tory, 101-25; in geography, 
136-49, 156, 157; in arithmetic, 
158-79. 

Music, motivation of, 192-95; 
festivals, school, 193-95; useless 
matter in, 244. 

National Department of Super- 
intendents, 179, 181. 

Nature-study, motivation of, 211- 
16. 

Need as a motive for learning, 44, 
73, 81. 

Neuark Study, the, 154. 

New York City, Public School No. 
77, 177; Washington Irving 
High School, 197. 

Nonsense syllables, 35, 36. 

Obsolete material, in arithmetic, 
179-82. See Elimination. 

Occupational studies, problems 
concerning, 173-77. 



I Oral compositions, 81, 89. 
! Oral reading, 60-63. 
: Oregon Building at Panama-Pa- 
cific Exposition, 205. 
Organization, efficiency applied 

to, 245, 246. 
Organizing a stock company, 

problems concerning, 170-73. 
Oxford, Ohio, State Normal 
Training School of, 130. 

" Page " work and motivated work 

in history, 125-27. 
Pageants, 101, 102, 111-17, 131, 

132. 
Paired associates, Thorndike's 

study of, 36. 
Papers' school, 93 } 94, 236-40. 
Parker, Colonel, 225. 
Pestalozzi, 5, 245. 
Play, a motive for work, 48, 49, 

137, 157, 162. 
Portland, Ore., School Bulletin, 

193. 
Preservation, a motive for work, 

51, 93. 
Prizes, 74-78, 147. 
Problem, as a motive for learning, 

44. 
Problems, organizing history 

around, 127-32; in geography, 

136; creating real, 138-40; im- 
aginary, in arithmetic, 163-79; 

connected with school fairs, 

222, 223. 
Programs, for school assemblies, 

91, 92, 224-33; for dramatic 

exercises, 111-16; musical, for 

exhibits, 235, 236. 
Progress and efficiency, 241, 242. 
Project method, 250. 
Promoting self-development, a 

motive for work, 51. 
Property, the acquiring of, a 

motive for work, 47, 4S, 73- 

80. 



278 



INDEX 



Providence, R.I., 200. 
" Psychology, change and progress 
in schools due to, 28. 
Pupils, separation of, 13. 

Reading, the motivation of, 57- 
70; establishing the motive for, 
57-60; choice and treatment of 
selections, 60-63; the use of 
games, 63-65; other motives 
for, 65-70; list of selections 
brought by children, 68, 69. 

Reformation, the, 5. 

Review, The, letter from editor of, 
238, 239. 

Roger, W. A., on effect of train- 
ing, 39. 

Rollo, 111., 208. 

Rousseau, J. J., 5, 244. 

Rowe, quoted on interest and 
motive, 22; on the complexity 
of the origin of motives, 44; on 
instinct as basis of motive, 45. 

Scales, writing, 186-89. 

School activities, a means of moti- 
vating the work of the school, 
220-40. 

School assemblies, 224-33. 

School banks, 177-79. 

School exhibits, 234. 

School fairs or bazaars, 221-24. 

School gardens, 160. 

School papers, 93, 94, 236-40. 

School societies, 233-36. 

Schools, constant criticism of, 3; 
better to-day than ever before, 
3; the old and the new, con- 
trasted, 6-8; competitors of, 8, 
9; motivation in work of, to be 
aimed at, 10, 23; the work of, 
not significant to the pupil, 10; 
the dropping out of, 11; loss in 
organization, management, and 
supervision of, 13. 

Scientific management, 241, 242. 



Self-development, promoting, a 

motive for work, 51. 
Sewing, 200. 
Sharing, a motive for work, 50, 

83, 88-91. 
Singing, motivation of, 193. 
Smith, Dr. David Eugene, 162. 
Social and competitive instincts, 

use of, in motivating school 

work, 220-24. 
Social-group method of history 

study, 117-25. 
Social-utility standard of selec- 
tion of topics, 179. 
Societies, school, 233-36. 
Spelling, useless matter in, 12, 

244; motivation of, 190-92; 

lists, 191, 192. 
Speyer School, 120. 
Standards of accomplishment for 

teachers, 242 n. 
Steele, Miss, of Horaee Mann 

School, 158. 
Stimson, Director, of Massachu- 
setts Board of Education, 214. 
Stock company, organizing of, 

problems concerning, 170-73. 
Stone, Dr: C. W., formerly of 

Training School at Farmville, 

Va., 149. 
Strayer, quoted on motivation in 

drill work, 24. 
Studies, occupational, problems 

concerning, 173-77. 
Study, course of, in geography, 

suggestions for, 152-56; courses 

of, in arithmetic, comparison of, 

179-82. 
Subject-matter, useless, 12, 135, 

136, 158, 179-82, 243-45; to 

be given a secondary place, 

28, 42; selection of, important, 

40. 
Suzzallo, Dr., 163. 
Swift, Dr., his improvement curve 

for ball-tossing, 34. 



INDEX 



279 



Teachers, special, 13. 

Technique of motivated teaching, 
25-27. 

Tests to determine mental fa- 
tigue, 30-33. 

Textbooks. See Books. 

Thorndike, Dr. E. L., on mental 
fatigue, 31-33; his study of 
paired associates, 36; on im- 
provement in mental functions, 
39; on handwriting and type- 
writing, 189 n. 

Thorndike scale for writing, 186, 
189. 

Training, transfer of, 39. 

Typewriting, Dr. Book's experi- 



ment in, 34; common use of, for 
neatness and legibility, 189 n. 

Vacation experiences, composi- 
tions on, 89, 90. 

Vocabularies, reading and spell- 
ing, 191. 

Watkins, Florence V., of the 
Speyer School, report on his- 
tory teaching, 120-25. 

Winfield, Kansas, 194. 

Writing, useless matter in, 12; 
motivation of, 185-90; scale, 
186-89; judgment and intelli- 
gence in, 188-90. 



s 






WORD MASTERY 

A Course in Phonics for the First Three Grades 
Prepared by 

FLORENCE AKIN 

Formerly a Teacher in Primary Grades, Portland, Oregon 



1. It offers a system of effective and economical practice 

based on the latest and best theory of phonic analy- 
sis and word building. 

2. It will give excellent results even in the hands of the 

teacher who lacks training in phonics. 

3. It saves the teacher the labor and the time otherwise 

needed to plan a phonic course to be taught by 
means of blackboard and card devices. 

4. It saves the expense of charts and cards ordinarily re- 

quired to supplement the reading lessons. 

5. It gives the children greater independence in their 

study, because they have the books in their own 
hands. It provides opportunity for the pupils to 
make up their individual deficiencies, without hold- 
ing back the rest of the class. 

6. It does away with the mechanical reading lesson — the 

reading of word repetitions without literary interest 
for the sake of phonic drill. The pupil becomes quick 
at word recognition, and the reading lesson can be 
devoted entirely to reading the best literature. 

y. It is thorough and simple. Each new lesson teaches 
one new phonic element, and only one. There are 
thus no difficulties on the way, and the pupil stead 
ily gains confidence in himself. 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



CHILDREN'S CLASSICS IN 
DRAMATIC FORM 

BOOK ONE — For First and Second Grades. 
BOOK TWO — For Second and Third Grades. 
BOOK THREE — For Third and Fourth Grades. 
BOOK FOUR — For Fifth and Sixth Grades. 
BOOK FIVE — For Seventh and Eighth Grades. 



DRAMATIZED SCENES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY 
For Sixth to Eighth Grades. 

By AUGUSTA STEVENSON 

Formerly a Teacher in the Indianapolis Public Schools 

These books accomplish three important functions: — first, 
they arouse a greater interest in oral reading; second, they 
develop an expressive voice; and third, they give freedom 
and grace in the bodily attitudes and movements involved 
in reading and speaking. 

The use of these books will greatly improve the oral 
reading in your schools. In these days, when so many books 
are hastily read in school, there is a tendency to sacrifice ex- 
pression to the mechanics and interpretation of reading. 
Those acquainted with school work know too well the resulting 
monotonous, indistinct speech and the self-conscious, listless 
attitude which characterize so much of the reading of pupils 
in grades above the third. The dramatic appeal of the stones 
in this book will cause the child to lose himself in the char- 
acter he is impersonating, and to read with a naturalness and 
expressiveness unknown to him before; and this improvement 
will be evident in all his oral reading and even in his speech. 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 

740a 



TEXTBOOKS IN LANGUAGE 

The New Webster-Cooley Course in English 

By Alice Woodworth Cooley, late Assistant Professor in 
the Department of Education, University of North Dakota, and 
W. F. Webster, Principal of the East High School, Minne- 
apolis. 

First Book (Grades IV and V). 
Second Book (Grades VI-VII and VIII). 

This course is especially planned for use in those 
systems of schools where it is desired to reduce the in- 
struction in grammar to its simplest form in order to give 
greater attention to the work in composition. All un- 
necessary grammatical forms and classifications are 
omitted, and yet a thorough grounding is given in the 
essential elements of our language structure. The books 
correlate most successfully the language lesson with 
nature study, geography, history, and art, and thus bring 
greater vitality and interest into the language work. 

The New Webster-Cooley Course in English by 

Grades. 
Part One, for Grade IV. 
Part Two, for Grade V. 
Part Three, for Grade VI. 
Part Four. (The Essentials of Grammar and Composition.) 

For Grades VII- VIII. 

These four books contain identically the same ma- 
terial as the two books of the New Webster-Cooley 
Course in English. As listed above, the Course is now 
available practically in the form of " a book for a grade/' 

SPELLING 

The Bailey-Manly Spelling Book 

By Eliza R. Bailey, Teacher of Elementary English in Boston 
and John M. Manly, Ph.D., Professor and Head of the Depart 
ment of English in the University of Chicago. Single-volume 
edition. Book I (Grades 2-4). Book II (Grades 5-8). 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 

1412 



LITERATURE SELECTIONS' - 

Modern Prose and Poetry for Secondary Schools. Edited 
by Margaret Ashmun. 

Prose Literature for Secondary Schools. With some sug- 
gestions for correlation with composition. Edited by 
Margaret Ashmun. With an Introduction by Willard G. 
Bleyer. 

The High School Prize Speaker. Edited by William L. 
Snow. 

American and English Classics for Grammar Grades. 

Selections from the Riverside Literature Series for Fifth 
Grade Reading. 

Selections from the Riverside Literature Series for Sixth 
Grade Reading. 

Selections from the Riverside Literature Series for Seventh 
Grade Reading. 

Selections from the Riverside Literature Series for Eighth 
Grade Reading. 

American Classics. (Poems and Prose.) 

American Poems. Edited by Horace E. Scudder. 

American Prose. Edited by Horace E. Scudder. 

Literary Masterpieces. 

Masterpieces of American Literature. Edited by Horacr 
E. Scudder. 

Masterpieces of British Literature. Edited by Horace If« 
Scudder. 

Masterpieces of Greek Literature. (Translations.) Super 
vising editor, John Henry Wright. 

Masterpieces of Latin Literature. (Translations.) Edited 
by G. J. Laing. 



HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



«9<>4 



